Nuclear cleanup slowdown.

In 2002, the U.S. DOE began an accelerated cleanup program for nuclear waste aimed at reducing cleanup costs by $50 billion and shortening the timeline by 35 years. In July 2005, the GAO released a review of this program which found that progress is varied among the 16 cleanup activities measured. The DOE is ahead of schedule on packaging nuclear materials for disposal, disposing of low-level waste, and removing buildings, but lags on the tougher and costlier tasks of disposing of transuranic and radioactive tank wastes and closing tanks that contained radioactive waste. Because of these factors the DOE is not likely to achieve its full estimated cost and time reduction. The GAO advised the agency to revise its performance reporting and better highlight critical activities that will help it meet its goals.