4.1: Environmental Cleanup
Complete cleanup of the contaminated nuclear weapons manufacturing and testing sites across the United States. Other Information:
DOE is responsible for the risk reduction and cleanup of the environmental legacy of the Nation’s nuclear weapons program,
one of the largest, most diverse, and technically complex environmental programs in the world. The Department will successfully
achieve this strategic goal by ensuring the safety of DOE employees and U.S. citizens, acquiring the best resources to complete
the complex tasks, and by managing projects throughout the United States in the most efficient and effective manner. DOE has
made significant progress in the last four years in shifting away from risk management to embracing a mission completion philosophy
based on cleanup and reducing risk. The Department continues to demonstrate the importance of remaining steadfast to operating
principles while staying focused on the mission. The Department has made progress in recent years in cleanup and/or closure
of sites. As many as seven sites will be completed by the end of 2006 including: Rocky Flats, Fernald, Columbus, Ashtabula,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-Main Site, and Kansas City Plant.DOE will maintain
a focus on site completion, with an additional ten sites or areas projected to be completed by the end of 2009. These include:
Argonne National Laboratory – East, Miamisburg, Brookhaven National Laboratory, East Tennessee Technology Park at Oak Ridge,
Energy Technology Engineering Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-Site 300, Inhalation Toxicology Laboratory, Pantex
Plant, Sandia National Laboratory, and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Eight Nevada "Off-sites" will be transferred
to the Office of Legacy Management in FY 2007. Three of these eight sites (the Central Nevada Test Area, Project Shoal Area,
and the Rio Blanco Site) are scheduled to close in 2010. In addition to its emphasis on site cleanup and closures, the Department
is also focusing on longer-term activities required for the completion of the cleanup program. These include: Constructing
and operating facilities to treat radioactive liquid tank waste into a safe, stable form to enable ultimate disposition. Securing
and storing nuclear material in a stable, safe configuration in secure locations to protect national security. Transporting
and disposing of transuranic and low-level wastes in a safe and cost-effective manner to reduce risk.
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