WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) today issued an outline of planned accomplishments over the next decade to capitalize on progress it has made cleaning up former government weapons and research sites over its first 30 years.

Since 1989, EM has completed work at 91 of the original 107 remediation sites, shrinking its overall program footprint by 90 percent. “A Time of Transition and Transformation: EM Vision 2020-2030” projects further achievements this year and in the years ahead at the remaining locations in 11 states.

“The strategic vision not only lays out EM’s planned slate of accomplishments for this year but also outlines a decade of anticipated progress across the breadth of the program,” said William “Ike” White, senior adviser for environmental management to the Under Secretary for Science.

The document highlights planned achievements between 2020 and 2030, including:

  • Initiating radioactive tank waste treatment at the Hanford Site in Washington State.
  • Closing 22 of 51 underground waste tanks and completing disposal of legacy transuranic waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
  • Completing construction of the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility, along with completing disposition of remaining legacy transuranic waste and uranium-233 at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.
  • Completing treatment of remaining liquid-sodium bearing waste and completion shipments of legacy transuranic waste from the Idaho National Laboratory site.
  • Completing key infrastructure upgrades at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.
  • Completing the legacy cleanup activities at the Nevada National Security Site.

“A Time of Transition and Transformation: EM Vision 2020-2030” can be accessed here. For more information on the EM program, go here.