Full Title: Naval Reactors: Independent Analyses of Cost, Schedule, and Quality of Work Needed for Spent Fuel Handling Facility Project
Author(s): U.S. Government Accountability Office
Publisher(s): U.S. Government Accountability Office
Publication Date: December 12, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Naval Reactors, jointly managed by the U.S. Navy and DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, is constructing a new facility to replace and upgrade the handling and processing of naval spent fuel. Naval Reactors has experienced challenges completing the project, causing schedule delays and cost increases of more than $2 billion.
Senate Report 118-58 accompanying S. 2226, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, includes a provision for GAO to review the status of naval spent fuel and related facilities. This GAO report (1) describes Naval Reactors’ plans for managing spent fuel, (2) assesses the extent to which SFHP cost and schedule estimates exhibit key characteristics of reliable estimates, and (3) examines the extent to which Naval Reactors has analyzed the causes of SFHP cost and schedule increases, and quality assurance problems. GAO reviewed agency documents on spent fuel management and the SFHP; compared SFHP estimates with cost- and schedule-estimating best practices; and interviewed Naval Reactors and DOE officials.