Current:Home > InvestCleanup cost for nuclear contamination sites has risen nearly $1 billion since 2016, report says -AssetTrainer
Cleanup cost for nuclear contamination sites has risen nearly $1 billion since 2016, report says
View
Date:2025-04-18 22:09:49
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The estimated future cost to clean up 19 sites contaminated by nuclear waste from the Cold War era has risen by nearly $1 billion in the past seven years, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The GAO report urges the Army Corps of Engineers to improve management practices for cleaning up contaminated sites under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, or FUSRAP. The recommendations include improved planning so resources can be better shared among sites and developing more comprehensive cost estimates.
Officials say inflation is partly to blame for the cost increase, along with uncertainties about the cleanup. The report found that four sites with “complicated cleanup remedies or large amounts of contamination” are responsible for about three-fourths of the cost increase. Two of those sites are in New York state — one near Niagara Falls and one in Lockport. The others are in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, and in the St. Louis area.
All told, the 19 FUSRAP sites are in eight states, all in the East or Midwest.
The Department of Defense said they would work to implement the GAO’s recommendations, the report stated.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remains committed to cleaning up and completing projects being executed under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) to protect the health and well-being of communities and the environment,” a statement from the agency said. “We have received the Government Accountability Office’s report and we are currently working to address their recommendations.”
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, noted that more than two-fifths of the sites are near low-income and minority communities.
“Decades after the federal government generated large amounts of toxic nuclear waste as a result of nuclear weapons production, America’s most underserved communities still bear the brunt of deadly contamination from one of the most significant environmental disasters in our nation’s history,” Raskin said in a statement.
The Corps of Engineers reported about $2.6 billion in future costs associated with FUSRAP, according to its fiscal year 2022 financial statement — nearly $1 billion higher than 2016 estimates. The report said yearly inflation adjustments contributed to about half of the increased cost.
Corps officials said that the rest “stems from cleanup-related uncertainties, such as sites that did not have a complete estimate in 2016 because they were still under investigation, as well as sites where the understanding of the amount and accessibility of the contamination has changed over time,” the report stated.
The report noted that FUSRAP sites vary from roughly a single acre to a site made up of 2,400 acres (971 hectares). Contamination largely consists of low levels of uranium, thorium, radium and associated decay products. The CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease says exposure over a long period may result in anemia, cataracts and other health conditions.
But in the St. Louis area, activists have long fought for compensation for people with cancer and other serious illnesses might be connected to nuclear contamination. Uranium was processed in St. Louis starting at the onset of World War II as America raced to develop nuclear bombs, and the waste has contaminated a creek, a landfill and other properties.
In July, reporting as part of an ongoing collaboration between The Missouri Independent, the nonprofit newsroom MuckRock and The Associated Press cited thousands of pages of documents indicating decades of nonchalance and indifference about the risks posed by uranium contamination. The government documents were obtained by outside researchers through the Freedom of Information Act and shared with the news organizations.
Since the news reports, bipartisan support has emerged to compensate those in St. Louis and elsewhere whose illnesses may be tied to nuclear fallout and contamination. President Joe Biden said in August that he was “prepared to help in terms of making sure that those folks are taken care of.”
This summer in Missouri, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation to expand an existing compensation program for exposure victims. The Senate has endorsed the plan.
In the St. Louis region, the GAO report said the cost of cleaning up contaminated Coldwater Creek had increased by 130% — to more than $400 million — as the scope of the work expanded to address contamination not just in the creek itself, but in its floodplain as well.
veryGood! (14)
Related
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Deion Sanders on theft of players' belongings: 'Who robs the Rose Bowl?'
- House Speaker Mike Johnson was once the dean of a Christian law school. It never opened its doors
- Belarusians who fled repression face new hurdles as they try to rebuild their lives abroad
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Sherri Shepherd channels Beyoncé, Kelly and Mark are 'Golden Bachelor': See daytime TV host costumes
- Australia cannot strip citizenship from man over his terrorism convictions, top court says
- As transgender health care draws patients to New Mexico, waitlists grow
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Police: THC-infused candy at school Halloween event in California leaves one child sick
Ranking
- Trump's 'stop
- What are witch storms? Severe weather pattern could hit Midwest in November
- How old is too old to trick-or-treat? Boo! Some towns have legal age limits at Halloween
- Edging into the spotlight: When playing in the background is fame enough
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Researchers hope tracking senior Myanmar army officers can ascertain blame for human rights abuses
- FDA warns that WanaBana fruit pouches contain high lead levels, endangering children
- Opponents of military rule in Myanmar applaud new sanctions targeting gas revenues
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Mississippi attorney general says 3 police shootings were justified
Trisha Paytas and Moses Hacmon Win Halloween With Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Costumes
FBI Director Christopher Wray warns Congress of terror threats inspired by Hamas' attack on Israel
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Maui police release body camera footage showing race to evacuate Lahaina residents: This town is on fire
US magistrate cites intentional evidence destruction in recommending default judgment in jail suit
Potential cure for sickle cell disease raises few concerns for FDA panel