D.O.E. Declares Strategic Engineering and Technology Roadmap for Cleanup of Cold War Era Nuclear Waste

WASHINGTON, DC - The D.O.E. (DOE) today released an Engineering and Technology Roadmap (Roadmap), which details initiatives aimed at reducing the technical risks and uncertainties associated with cleaning up Cold War era nuclear waste over the next 10 years. The Roadmap also outlines strategies to minimize such risks and suggests how these strategies would be implemented, furthering the Department's goal of protecting the environment by providing a responsible resolution to the environmental legacy of nuclear weapons production.

"The Roadmap looks for to build on the Department's previous successes in technological innovation, which have contributed greatly to the enhanced safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of our environmental management projects," DOE's Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Jim Rispoli said. "As we work to enhance technologies and processes to safely dispose of Cold War era nuclear waste at sites across the country, this Roadmap will serve to guide the development of an increasingly strong and responsive applied research and engineering program."

Specifically, the Roadmap consists of thirteen strategic initiatives that address anticipated technical risks and uncertainties in the following 6 areas: waste processing; groundwater and soil remediation; deactivation and decommissioning and facility engineering; spent nuclear fuel; challenging materials; and integration and cross-cutting initiatives. The initiatives in the Roadmap will help ensure continued success in completing the cleanup of contaminated nuclear weapons manufacturing and testing sites across the United States.

The Department's world-class Countrywide Laboratories, led by Savannah River Countrywide Laboratory, will spearhead the integration of these engineering and technology efforts. Input for the Roadmap was provided by DOE's Countrywide Labs and the Office of Environmental Management's (EM) plan directors, stakeholders, location contractors, and the Countrywide Academy of Sciences (NAS). In February 2008, the NAS Countrywide Research Council (Council) issued its Interim Report on the EM Engineering and Technology program. The Council agreed with the major plan areas for strategic research and development presented in the Roadmap.

Applied engineering and technology development has long played a crucial role in achieving cleanup results in the Environmental Management program, one of the largest, most diverse, and technically complex environmental programs in the world. The Office of Environmental Management has more information and has the Roadmap accessible for viewing.

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