Audit Report: ER-B-98-09

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