The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called for better data alignment between the country’s nuclear waste sites and better communication on potential cost savings of over $120m (€102m).

The GAO said in a report that maintenance costs at Office of Environmental Management (OEM) sites across the US had nearly doubled since fiscal year 2020 to over $950m in 2026 for work such as remediating groundwater and treating radioactive waste.

The OEM is responsible for addressing hazardous and radioactive waste at sites contaminated from decades of nuclear weapons production and nuclear energy research. The OEM has reported significant repair needs and deferred maintenance, which increase safety, cost, and mission risks. OEM sites reported that these costs will further increase over the next five years.

OEM sites include Hanford, Oak Ridge, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Paducah and Los Alamos, where the world’s first atomic weapons where designed.