Privatization considerations of environmental remediation of DOE wastes

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is in the process of privatizing the application of environmental cleanup technologies to remediate nuclear waste within the DOE complex. These wastes are the legacy of the production of nuclear materials during the cold war era. It is anticipated that the privatization strategy will result in more efficient and less expensive approaches to the cleanup of DOE wastes. Similar privatization initiatives have the potential to achieve increased efficiency and cost savings at sites under the Department of Defense (DOD) and other Federal agencies. The DOE is privatizing a major, complex portion of the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Program at the Hanford nuclear reservation located in eastern Washington State. This effort will involve private companies that will design, permit, construct, operate, and finally deactivate waste treatment facilities that will be owned entirely by the private sector. The DOE will purchase treated waste products on a unit cost basis from the facilities after supplying the vendors with waste from the tank farm at Hanford. The privatization of selected United States and international Government functions involve decisions that are based on accurate and valid cost information. Private firms are beginning to privatize certain corporate activities so that they may concentrate business activities along main product or mission lines. In either the public or private sector, many aspects of cost engineering are utilized to make prioritization a success