Stewardship of Federal Facilities

Stewardship of Federal Facilities
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 126
Release: 1998-10-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 030906189X

The federal government has invested more than $300 billion in 500,000 buildings and other facilities worldwide to support the provision of government services. Evidence is mounting that the physical condition, functionality, and quality of federal facilities are deteriorating. Stewardship of Federal Facilities identifies factors and processes contributing to this deterioration and recommends a framework of methods, practices, and strategies to foster accountability for the stewardship of federal facilities and to allocate resources for their maintenance and repair.

Innovations in Ground Water and Soil Cleanup

Innovations in Ground Water and Soil Cleanup
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 1997-11-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309063582

Most books on ground water and soil cleanup address only the technologies themselvesâ€"not why new technologies are or are not developed. Innovations in Ground Water and Soil Cleanup takes a holistic approach to the entire field, addressing both the sluggish commercial development of ground water and soil cleanup technologies and the attributes of specific technologies. It warns that, despite cleanup expenditures of nearly $10 billion a year, the technologies remain rudimentary. This engaging book focuses on the failure of regulatory policy to link cleanup with the financial interests of the company responsible for the contamination. The committee explores why the market for remediation technology is uniquely lacking in economic drivers and why demand for innovation has been so much weaker than predicted. The volume explores how to evaluate the performance of cleanup technologies from the points of view of the public, regulators, cleanup entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders. The committee discusses approaches to standardizing performance testing, so that choosing a technology for a given site can be more timely and less contentious. Following up on Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup (NRC, 1994), this sequel presents the state of the art in the cleanup of various types of ground water and soil contaminants. Strategies for making valid cost comparisons also are reviewed.

Superfund Reauthorization

Superfund Reauthorization
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Commerce. Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Hazardous Materials
Publisher:
Total Pages: 462
Release: 1995
Genre: Hazardous waste sites
ISBN:

Risk and Decisions About Disposition of Transuranic and High-Level Radioactive Waste

Risk and Decisions About Disposition of Transuranic and High-Level Radioactive Waste
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2005-03-07
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309095492

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) manages dozens of sites across the nation that focus on research, design, and production of nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors for defense applications. Radioactive wastes at these sites pose a national challenge, and DOE is considering how to most effectively clean them up. Some of the greatest projected risks, cleanup costs, and technical challenges come from processing and disposing transuranic and high-level radioactive waste. This report addresses how DOE should incorporate risk into decisions about whether the nation should use alternatives to deep geologic disposal for some of these wastes. It recommends using an exemption process involving risk assessment for determining how to dispose of problematic wastes. The report outlines criteria for risk assessment and key elements of a risk-informed approach. The report also describes the types of wastes that are candidates for alternative disposition paths, potential alternatives to deep geologic disposal for disposition of low-hazard waste, and whether these alternatives are compatible with current regulations.