Reports & Testimonies
GAO’s reports and testimonies give Congress, federal agencies, and the public timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can improve government operations and save taxpayers billions of dollars.
Most Recent Reports
1 - 20 of 2592 Reports
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Nuclear Nonproliferation: Efforts Are Underway to Address Factors Affecting the International Atomic Energy Agency's Safeguards Program
The International Atomic Energy Agency supports nuclear nonproliferation through its safeguards program. This program applies a set of technical measures and inspections to ensure that countries are not diverting nuclear materials into weapons. The U.S. helps provide financial and other assistance to this agency. However, we found that a number of factors affect this agency's ability to do its job. They include: Funding and budget...
Electricity: Information on Peak Demand Power Plants
This Q&A report explores peak demand power plants—known as "peakers"—that supplement other types of power plants and operate when power demand is greatest, e.g., hot summer afternoons. Peakers tend to be located near historically disadvantaged communities. Natural gas fuels most of the 999 peakers in the United States. Like other power plants, peakers emit several pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide—which can lead to breathing problems...
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Priority Open Recommendations: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission outlines 8 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, we recommended that NRC improve the security of certain radioactive materials to make them less vulnerable to theft while developing a...
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Decarbonization: Opportunities Exist to Improve the Department of Energy's Management of Risks to Carbon Capture Projects
Carbon capture technologies could help the federal government meet its goals to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. From FY 2018-2023, the Department of Energy provided about $1.4 billion to fund 654 research and development projects related to carbon capture, use, and storage or directly extracting CO2 from the air. However, the DOE office that handled nearly 70% of funding didn't always follow guidance...
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Gas Pipeline Safety: Better Data and Planning Would Improve Implementation of Regulatory Changes
About 300,000 miles of gas transmission pipelines cross the nation. Pipelines and related equipment failure can cause incidents of harm to people or property. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration recently issued rules to strengthen gas transmission safety regulations. Among other things, these rules require pipeline operators to assess more miles of pipeline than before and keep better records. Our Q&A report found that...
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Nuclear Power Plants: NRC Should Take Actions to Fully Consider the Potential Effects of Climate Change
Climate change is likely to exacerbate natural hazards—such as floods and drought. The risks to nuclear power plants from such hazards include damage to systems and equipment that ensure safe operation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's oversight process includes addressing safety risks at these plants. However, NRC doesn't fully consider potential increases in risk from climate change. For example, NRC mostly uses historical data to identify...
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Oil and Gas Pipelines: Agencies Should Improve Oversight of Decommissioning
"Gathering pipelines" carry oil and natural gas from wells to other pipelines or facilities. Many—although an exact number is unknown—are located on federal lands and were installed decades ago. If not taken out of service properly, the pipelines may pose safety and environmental risks—including spills, emissions, or explosions. In this Q&A report, we look at the challenges several federal agencies face with ensuring the pipelines...
Offshore Oil and Gas: Interior Needs to Improve Decommissioning Enforcement and Mitigate Related Risks
Oil and gas companies with offshore infrastructure must decommission it when it's no longer useful—by plugging wells and removing platforms within set deadlines. As of June 2023, more than 2,700 wells and 500 platforms were overdue for decommissioning in the Gulf of Mexico. Delays can increase environmental, safety, and financial risks. For example, delays could indicate that companies are in financial trouble and may leave...
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Nuclear Materials: DOE Plans for Savannah River Site's H-Canyon Facility
The Department of Energy uses the H-Canyon facility in South Carolina to help process certain nuclear materials for disposal—such as spent nuclear fuel that contains highly enriched uranium. Some of these materials have no other means of disposal, are unstable, and pose risks to people and the environment. Several programs within DOE and one at another federal agency rely on this facility that may close...
Low-Dose Radiation: Agency Leadership and Collaboration Are Needed to Set the Direction of Future Research
Exposure to high doses of radiation is unhealthy—but what about low doses? The Department of Energy and other agencies have been supporting and conducting research to answer this question for more than 2 decades. In 2018, Congress directed DOE to lead a low-dose radiation research program. Congress also directed DOE to work with the National Academies to outline research priorities for the program. Its June...
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High-Risk Radioactive Material: Opportunities Exist to Improve the Security of Sources No Longer in Use
"Radioactive sources" refers to nuclear materials that emit radiation and are sealed in containers that are specifically designed for use in medical, industrial, or research applications. For example, cesium-137 is widely used in a device that irradiates donor blood to make it safer for transfusions. These radioactive sources can only be used for a defined period—based on radioactive half-life—but some users delay disposal, leaving sources...
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Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Army Corps Could Benefit from Following Leading Practices for Program Management for Contaminated Sites
Decades of nuclear energy research and weapons development created radioactive waste at sites in the Midwest and Northeast U.S.—leading to environmental risks for nearby communities. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cleaning up 19 sites at an estimated cost of $2.6 billion. But the Corps isn't using opportunities to manage this work in a coordinated centralized way. The Corps could use its resources more...
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Nuclear Power: NRC Needs to Take Additional Actions to Prepare to License Advanced Reactors
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses nuclear reactors. In the coming years, the agency expects an increase in licensing applications for advanced nuclear reactors that may provide benefits like faster and cheaper electricity production. NRC has begun updating its regulations and processes to include these reactors—but has had difficulty hiring and retaining the staff needed to license them. Although NRC has offered recruitment and retention incentives...
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Electricity Grid: DOE Could Better Support Industry Efforts to Ensure Adequate Transformer Reserves
Large power transformers help to efficiently transmit electricity across the grid. These critical grid components are vulnerable to wear and tear, natural disasters, and cyber and physical attacks. Replacing them is expensive and takes a long time. The Department of Energy intends to improve grid resilience by supporting the electricity industry as it works to ensure adequate reserves of spare transformers. DOE has identified ways...
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Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Energy
Each year, we make more than 1,000 recommendations to help the federal government save money, address issues on our High Risk List, and significantly improve government operations. This letter to the U.S. Department of Energy outlines 30 open recommendations that it should prioritize. For example, the U.S. electricity grid faces risks from climate change, and we recommended that DOE implement a department-wide strategy to improve...
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Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Agencies Should Track Progress Toward Ambitious Federal Goals [Reissued with Revisions May 17, 2023]
To reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions, the White House issued a "Grand Challenge" that aims to increase the production of sustainable jet fuel to 3 billion gallons per year by 2030. Its goal is also to produce enough fuel to meet 100% of commercial jet fuel demand by 2050. Currently, this fuel is used at two large airports, but accounts for less than 0.1% of...
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Electric Vehicle Infrastructure: USPS Should Plan for Potential Workplace Charging
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is preparing to introduce electric vehicles into its delivery fleet, and is planning to install chargers for these fleet vehicles at some facilities. USPS employees could also benefit from these chargers by being able to charge their personal vehicles during a work shift. However, USPS has not incorporated the potential for sharing its fleet chargers with employees—or installing additional chargers...
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Utility-Scale Energy Storage: Technologies and Challenges for an Evolving Grid
The U.S. electricity grid was designed to generate electricity and deliver it almost immediately to customers—very little is stored. Adding more energy storage could have benefits, like helping utilities Meet demand during supply disruptions Recover faster after outages Support renewable energy by storing power when natural sources—like wind and sunlight—are abundant and releasing it when they are not But it can be hard to put...
Fusion Energy: Potentially Transformative Technology Still Faces Fundamental Challenges
Nuclear fusion could produce electricity without carbon emissions or long-lasting nuclear waste. A 2022 experiment achieved a key milestone on the path to viable fusion energy: it was the first experiment in which the fusion reaction produced more energy than the energy injected into it. However, this technology faces challenges before it can produce commercial electricity. For example, new materials will need to be developed...
Power Marketing Administrations: Additional Steps Are Needed to Better Manage Climate-Related Risks
Four "power marketing administrations" sell electricity generated from federal hydropower dams to public utilities, rural cooperatives, and Indian Tribes in over 30 states. The four entities face a number of climate-related risks to their operations. For example, decreasing water availability that resulted from droughts could reduce the amount of electricity generated from dams—affecting their ability to provide power. In 2022, two of the administrations identified...