The Role of Advanced Technology in Cleaning Up the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex

About the Lecture

In 1989, the U.S. Department of Energy made a commitment to clean up all of its prior weapons production facilities and to assure full compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations. The facilities are contaminated as a result of over 40 years of weapons production. This is a major commitment that may take 20 years or more and require over $150 Billion to complete. The primary sites requiring cleanup include those located in Hanford, Washington, Fernald, Ohio; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Savannah River, South Carolina; and Rocky Flats Colorado. To accomplish this large task in a timely and efficient manner, new cleanup technologies are being vigorously pursued as the major way to reduce the cost to the taxpayer. Further, as the systems needed to achieve cleanup are being configured, new challenges will be faced in transportation. Materials contaminated by radioactivity as well as by hazardous compounds may need to be transported in significant quantity.