Since the late 1980s, scientists have known that more
than 100 federal nuclear sites, over half of which lie in the West,
will remain toxic forever. The problem is how to manage these
former bomb sites for thousands of years.
Though
the Department of Energy commissioned a National Academy of
Sciences study over two years ago and has since established an
office to oversee old nuclear areas, the academy’s recent report
says the DOE still doesn’t know how it should do the
job.
The technology currently available for
containing, monitoring and cleaning-up sites is of “doubtful
technical effectiveness,” according to the academy’s
Long-Term Institutional Management of U.S. Department of
Energy Legacy Waste Sites.
“We are
trying to make sure that these long-term problems don’t slip out of
the DOE’s control,” says Shlomo Neuman, a University of Arizona
professor who worked on the report.
Groundwater
contamination is widespread around nuclear sites and could pose a
public health problem if not properly monitored, says Mary English,
vice-chair of the report committee. A senior Department of Energy
official says the department is working on a
plan.
The 191-page report is available on the Web
at www.nap.edu/openbook/ 030907181X/html/1.html.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Agency gets rebuked.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
