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Nuclear Waste: Hanford Single-Shell Tank Leaks Greater Than Estimated

RCED-91-177 Published: Aug 05, 1991. Publicly Released: Sep 19, 1991.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO determined whether the Department of Energy (DOE) or its Hanford, Washington, site contractor fully disclosed the volume of waste that leaked from the site's underground single-shell storage tanks.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy The Secretary of Energy should direct the Manager of the DOE Richland Operations Office to: (1) incorporate the best current estimates of cooling water leaks into its estimate of total tank leaks; and (2) revise that estimate as additional information becomes available through the tank-by-tank analysis currently being developed.
Closed – Implemented
DOE agreed to revise estimates of leaks to account for cooling water leakage. The August 1991 Tank Farm report raised the tank leak estimate from 750,000 gallons to 1 million gallons to account for additional leakage.

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Topics

Natural Resources and Environment
Atomic energy defense activitiesHazardous substancesNuclear facility safetyNuclear waste disposalNuclear waste managementNuclear waste storagePollution monitoringRadioactive pollutionSafety regulationTanks (containers)