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Nuclear Waste: Questionable Uses of Program Funds at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory

RCED-92-157 Published: May 28, 1992. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 1992.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's use of nuclear waste funds to support independent research projects and to manage project activities for the Yucca Mountain, Nevada, underground repository site for permanent disposal of radioactive wastes.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy To ensure that nuclear waste funds are used only for activities directly related to the purposes of the nuclear waste act, the Secretary of Energy should take actions to ensure that nuclear waste funds are used by the laboratories only for authorized purposes. Such actions might include inserting language in contracts with DOE laboratories that either specifies the statutory restrictions on the use of nuclear waste funds or specifically exempts those funds from assessment for laboratory independent research.
Closed – Not Implemented
The DOE General Counsel has issued an opinion that the use of nuclear waste funds for laboratories' independent research and development activities is a valid cost to DOE of doing business with the laboratories. GAO does not agree.
Department of Energy In view of the growing proportion of Livermore's nuclear waste funds used to manage a declining work load, the Secretary of Energy should determine if there is a way to more efficiently accomplish the limited scientific work now assigned to Livermore, for example, by assigning this work to one or more other existing project contractors.
Closed – Not Implemented
DOE has determined that it will not implement this recommendation.

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Energy
Administrative costsContractor paymentsFunds managementGOCOLaboratoriesNuclear waste disposalOverhead costsResearch and development costsResearch program managementSole source procurement