New technologies to meet regulations

The US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management has set the ambitious goal of having all of its facilities cleaned up and in compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations by the year 2019. This goal is ambitious both because of the magnitude of the effort required and because, in many cases, the means for attaining the goal do not now exist. The DOE's strategy for reaching its goal is based on applied research and development, education, and cooperation with regulators. The Office of Technology Development (OTD) within the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management has instituted a program to assess the magnitude of the cleanup effort and to evaluate the potential technologies to be used. The OTD has program responsibility for providing new and more effective technologies for meeting DOE's goal for compliance and cleanup. Included are research and development of new technologies; demonstration, testing, and evaluation of technologies developed elsewhere; transportation; and educational programs to produce the scientists and engineers needed to maintain the momentum of research, development, demonstration, testing, and evaluation (RDDT and E) until the job is complete