Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management Alvin Alm Thursday unveiled a plan to accelerate cleanups at the Energy Department's nuclear waste sites around the nation.
The plan, submitted for public comment, calls for completing most cleanup activity at the sites by 2006, including the Rocky Flats Arsenal in Colorado. The DOE would be responsible for maintenance at the sites after that date; in addition, substantial cleanup work would remain at several sites.
The plan calls for improving efficiency through privatization of cleanup efforts, new technology, incentives and integrating planning, budgeting, and execution of projects.
However, the Military Production Network, a nuclear weapons watchdog group, criticized the plan, saying, "It is a recipe for sacrificing the health and safety of future generations for short-term political expediency."
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