The Department of Energy’s Office of Naval Reactors could save billions of dollars and 15 years of cleanup time partnering with the Office of Environmental Management to clean up retired nuclear propulsion facilities, says the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
A report from the agency last week said the Office of Naval Reactors, which is responsible for cleaning radioactive contamination at four DOE-owned sites affected by the naval propulsion program, estimated $6.5 billion in total “environmental liabilities” for the Naval cleanup as of fiscal 2025.
The Office of Environmental Management (EM) estimates it can complete $5.8 billion worth of cleanup work – which Naval Reactors estimated would be the cost with an EM partnership – for around $1 billion, potentially saving $4.8 billion, GAO said. Additionally, Naval Reactors and EM accelerated the target date for completion from 2050 to 2035.
The projected savings stem from a 2019 agreement under which EM — which oversees cleanup at former weapons production and research sites across the nuclear weapons complex — assumed responsibility for decommissioning work at four Naval Reactors sites: Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in Pennsylvania; Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and the Kenneth A. Kesselring Site in New York; and the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho.
GAO pointed to early work at Idaho’s Naval Reactors Facility as evidence the approach is working. Environmental Management completed demolition of the Submarine First Generation Westinghouse reactor prototype for about $117 million — far below Naval Reactors’ inflation-adjusted estimate of roughly $870 million.
GAO does point out potential funding shortfalls and risks associated with the accelerated schedule. Naval Reactors officials told auditors the 2035 timeline is “aggressive,” and projected funding gaps between 2031 and 2035 could delay lower-priority projects.
The Office of Naval Reactors manages the four DOE-owned sites, which conduct research and training for the Navy’s nuclear-powered fleet.