DOE needs new waste separation technology

Abstract

After investing more than a decade of work and nearly $500 million, the Department of Energy is back to square one in its efforts to find a technology capable of safely separating radioactive elements from some 31 million gal of saltcake wastes stored at its Savannah River Site, near Aiken, S.C. DOE's difficulties are laid out in a blistering report by the General Accounting Office, released June 1. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), the ranking minority member of the House Commerce Committee who requested the review, calls the episode an extraordinary and pathetic waste of taxpayer money. Last week, DOE responded by taking responsibility for the separation work away from its site contractor, Westinghouse Savannah River Co. The separation contract is worth roughly $40 million, DOE officials say, out of the approximately $1.2 billion Westinghouse Savannah River is paid annually for overall site management. Problems with the technology were recognized more than a ...