Summary: The Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site stopped making plutonium components for nuclear weapons in 1989, leaving the Department of Energy (DOE) with the challenge of managing and cleaning up nearly 40 years' worth of contamination. Compared with the other sites in DOE's former nuclear weapons production complex, Rocky Flats has some of the most dangerous and highest-risk materials and facilities. Partly because of high maintenance costs, DOE developed plans in 1994 to clean up and close Rocky Flats. This report provides information on (1) DOE's plans for accelerating the site's closure and challenges that could impede closure, (2) the condition of the site at closure and the activities that will remain after closure, and (3) the costs of closing the site and the savings expected from accelerating its closure. GAO found that it is questionable whether DOE and its contractor, Kaiser-Hill, can meet the agency's target date of 2006 for cleaning up and closing Rocky Flats at the costs and savings originally projected. Also, DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the state of Colorado have agreed, in general, on the condition of the site when it is closed. However, many specific decisions still must be made. The costs of cleaning up and closing Rocky Flats could be higher than DOE's official estimate of $7.3 billion for fiscal year 1997 through fiscal year 2010.
