Impact of Federal R&D Funding on Three Mile Island Cleanup Costs

GAO was asked to respond to several questions concerning proposals to finance the cleanup of Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2): (1) the differences between the two Department of Energy (DOE) proposed expenditures for TMI activities; (2) the extent to which the state funding plan for TMI cleanup assumes that the federal contribution would offset $190 million of the estimated $760 million cleanup cost; (3) how much of the $760 million will be offset by the DOE proposed $123 million program; (4) what the administration's operative definition of research and development is; and (5) to what extent the DOE program at TMI-2 is directed at obtaining information useful for preventing and handling a damaged core.