Radioactive Waste: Answers to Questions Related to the Proposed Ward Valley Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the proposed facility for disposing of commercially generated low-level radioactive waste at a site in Ward Valley, California, focusing on: (1) the laws and regulations governing the Department of the Interior's preparation of supplements to environmental impact statements; (2) the laws and regulations on federal land transfers to states; (3) a May 1995 report on Ward Valley issues by the National Academy of Sciences; (4) a former low-level waste disposal facility at Beatty, Nevada; (5) an investigation by Interior's Inspector General into the activities of the U.S. Geological Survey related to the Beatty facility; (6) the plan and design for the proposed Ward Valley facility; and (7) the track record of U.S. Ecology in operating disposal facilities.