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Proposed Decontamination and Disassembly of the Argonne Thermal Source Reactor (ATSR) At Argonne National Laboratory

In 1991 the Secretary of Energy directed the Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health to form a Task Group to review tritium facility management practices and identify measures to improve tritium operations. The Task Group issued a report in October 1991 stating that there was an overall lack of attention to managing tritium residues throughout the Department of Energy (Department) complex. The Task Group reported problems at specific Departmental sites, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos). The Task Group stated that Los Alamos had not stressed the importance of maximizing tritium utilization; minimizing the generation of tritium residues, such as scrap and waste; or minimizing the loss of material through environmental releases. The Task Group found that wastewater containing tritium residues had been stored in the laboratory’s operating facilities for as long as 2 years without authorization for its disposal, and that Los Alamos had not prepared a cost analysis to justify disposing of the tritium. One of the Task Group’s concerns was that some of the stored residues represented a significant potential source of release to the environment. The objective of this audit was to determine whether Los Alamos disposed of wastewater containing tritium residues in a safe and cost-effective manner subsequent to the Task Group's report. f

Disposal of Tritium Residues at the Los Alamos National Laboratory

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 - NEPA - requires all federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of proposed actions before selecting among alternative approaches. Implementing the act has been a challenge at the Department of Energy, which over the last decade has instituted a series of changes to improve its management of the NEPA process. DOE's efforts demonstrate that even a large, fragmented agency with a legacy of serious problems can, with strong executive leadership, strengthen its performance and chip away at old problems.

A report, by the National Academy of Public Administration, on the management of NEPA within the Department of Energy.

On May 24, 1998, an electrician cleaning a high voltage switch at an outdoor substation received second and third degree burns from an arc blast.

Issued to MAC Isotopes, LLC, related to a Radioactive Material Release at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, (1998-05)

Preliminary Notice of Violation issued to Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company, related to a Radioactive Material Release at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, (EA-98-04)

BPA/Lower Valley Transmission Project

Welcome to the second quarter FY 1998 Quarterly Report on lessons learned in the NEPA process.