New GAO report highlights DOE opportunities for Hanford cleanup
On June 14, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report highlighting opportunities for the Department of Energy (DOE) to better ensure effective startup and sustained low-activity waste operations at the Hanford site in Washington state.
There are 54 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste being held in aging underground storage tanks at the Hanford site. To help treat some of this waste, DOE created the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) program, and built and modified several waste treatment facilities. While these facilities are mostly complete, DOE faces challenges in starting operations.
For example, according to DOE risk management documents, there is a high risk of inadequate availability of replacement parts and operating supplies for certain facilities, which will likely delay the DFLAW program schedule and increase costs. In addition, some equipment is likely to be obsolete by the time DFLAW facilities are operational, which would potentially delay the DFLAW program schedule and increase cost. According to DOE risk planning documents, several significant challenges may not be resolved by the end of hot commissioning using actual radioactive waste, and the start of normal DFLAW operations.
DFLAW program schedule and cost estimates do not fully follow best practices
DOE reviews and GAO assessments indicate that the DFLAW schedule and cost estimates do not reflect characteristics of reliable estimates. DOE estimates that it will complete the work to start DFLAW operations by December 31, 2023, at a cost of approximately $8.3 billion.
However, according to a January 2020 report by DOE’s Office of Project Management, many of the estimates that exist to complete facilities and systems and start DFLAW operations are based on immature and unproven designs or are characterized as rough estimates and, as a result, the estimates are of limited reliability.
According to DOE’s report, this causes a high level of uncertainty associated with budget forecasts for the year beyond the current fiscal year. Furthermore, in December 2020, DOE’s Office of Project Management concluded that DOE’s schedule to start DFLAW operations is optimistic and that the cost estimate to complete DFLAW facilities and systems is understated.
Furthermore, GAO analyses found that DOE did not fully follow best practices associated with the characteristics assessed for schedule and cost estimates.
DOE has substantially followed some, but not all, best practices for developing a schedule that reflects the comprehensive and well-constructed characteristics of a reliable schedule estimate for the DFLAW program, and DOE has partially met best practices for developing a comprehensive cost estimate.
DOE faces several significant challenges to starting DFLAW operations on schedule
GAO identified 11 risks that represent significant challenges that DOE faces in starting and operating DFLAW facilities and systems.
The table below lists these challenges and includes the (1) unmitigated and residual assessments that DOE used to rate the risk level of associated challenges; (2) approximate chances of the challenges occurring based on DOE subject matter professional judgment and evidence available; and (3) approximate potential impacts on schedule and cost.
Several challenges may persist during DFLAW operations and could result in delays and increased cost
According to DOE officials, DOE has taken some steps to address the 11 significant challenges we identified. However, it is possible that several of the challenges associated with starting DFLAW operations may not be fully mitigated or resolved when DFLAW operations are scheduled to start, which may increase the cost of the program.
According to DOE’s risk planning documents and DOE officials, the following challenges may persist after DFLAW operations begin:
Delayed evaluation approval for the disposal of DFLAW program treated waste
Inadequate replacement parts and operating supplies for WTP Facility (a waste treatment plant at Hanford)
Aging equipment is inoperable or obsolete
According to DOE reports, DOE’s aggressive strategy with optimistic scheduling for the WTP project does not provide the necessary schedule flexibility to address these and other challenges that are likely to occur.
Conclusions and recommendations
The report concludes that ensuring the resolution of all design and construction challenges and problems with facilities, systems, and components needed to start and sustain DFLAW operations would provide DOE with better assurance that the facilities needed for DFLAW meet nuclear quality and safety requirements. Furthermore, resolving challenges and problems by the end of hot commissioning will ensure that the costs to resolve challenges and problems do not fall on DOE.
GAO also provides the following recommendations:
The Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management (EM) should ensure that schedule estimates for the DFLAW program are developed and updated in accordance with GAO best practices.
The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that cost estimates for the DFLAW program are developed and updated in accordance with GAO best practices.
The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that the review of the contractor’s management system for DFLAW facilities is completed to verify compliance with DOE requirements.
The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that existing challenges and problems identified in its review of facilities, systems, and components related to DFLAW are resolved by the end of hot commissioning.