Government controlling commercial uranium refinement is going to cost almost a trillion in tax dollars

The United States government was the sole refiner of uranium for nuclear power plants for a few decades. This decision has and is costing the taxpayers billions of dollars to clean up the three sites that were involved, which means Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio have dangerously radioactive areas. Think about that for a second, the power plants were commercial endeavors that were forced to get their needed fuel from the government. The decision is lasting years of contamination and a bill that continues to grow.

Current Budget

The current budget is still sending enough money to keep the cleanup going. Here is what was in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024.

“For Department of Energy expenses necessary in carrying out uranium enrichment facility decontamination and decommissioning, remedial actions, and other activities of title II of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, and title X, subtitle A, of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, $855,000,000, to be derived from the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund, to remain available until expended, of which $0 shall be available in accordance with title X, subtitle A, of the Energy Policy Act of 1992.”

2004 Report

Here is a brief statement that was in a Government Accountability Office report on the cleanup.

“Decontaminating and decommissioning the Department of Energy’s three uranium enrichment plants—located near Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Portsmouth, Ohio—will cost billions of dollars and could span several decades. These plants, which encompass more than 30 million square feet of floor space, miles of interconnecting pipes, and thousands of acres of land, are contaminated with radioactive and hazardous materials. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management is responsible for the cleanup of the three plants. Cleanup activities include assessing, treating, and disposing of the contamination found at the plants and the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of inactive facilities. DOE conducts its cleanup activities under the requirements of several federal environmental laws and compliance agreements with relevant regulatory authorities, including the Environmental Protection Agency and state regulatory agencies. While DOE estimates that all cleanup work at the Oak Ridge plant will be complete by 2008, the Paducah and Portsmouth plants may continue operations for the next several years,1 and DOE has not determined when the final decontamination and decommissioning of these two plants will begin.”

2019 Report

Here, 15 years after the previous report, is how the cleanup is now going, via the Congressional Research Service.

“Decades of uranium enrichment by the federal government resulted in the contamination of buildings and structures, generated substantial volumes of radioactive and other hazardous wastes, and resulted in environmental contamination of the soil, sediments, surface water, and groundwater at federal uranium enrichment facilities. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486; Title XI) established the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning (UED&D) Fund to support the closure of federal uranium enrichment facilities and the remediation of related waste and contamination. With monies appropriated annually from the UED&D Fund, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) administers closure and remediation of federal uranium enrichment facilities and reimburses eligible uranium and thorium licensees for cleanup activities. As of FY2019, DOE estimates that remaining liabilities associated with the UED&D Fund range from $40.4 billion to $47.9 billion. The end-of-year balance of the UED&D Fund was $2.2 billion in FY2018, which presents an issue for Congress about how and whether to provide funding for the remaining liabilities. DOE estimates that remediation and closure at these sites may continue for decades, after which the federal government would be responsible for long-term stewardship of residual contamination and waste containment at these sites.”

There are no words I need to say that can make the situation sound better or scarier. This is a situation that means there are areas that are contaminated to the point that these areas are unable to be used for anything. While the US does have vast amounts of land, it does not mean that these areas that could be good for agriculture, commerce, or even living are not going to be able to have this happen for at minimum a decade because the government, which uses the lowest bidders for everything, destroyed the land.

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