The Department of Energy's, commitment to clean up the environmental problems at its facilities caused by decades of nuclear weapons production, has had and will continue to have a major impact on the country. The sheer magnitude of the problem and the goal affect the nation's economy. A Strategy for Environmental Technology and Economic Competitiveness: Commitment for Change, is a document prepared by the Strategic Laboratory Council (SLC) of the U.S. Department of Energy Laboratories. In this document, the world market for environmental products and services is estimated to exceed $200 billion per year. This strategy document includes an explanation of why DOE must change, a description of the strategy to achieve the change and how to implement it, an overall investment process for investing in the strategy, and recommended strategies specific to technology and investment.
The Strategic Laboratory Council began in 1992 when DOE Laboratory Directors were asked to form the council to carry out integrated planning to guide future investments in technological solutions to environmental restoration and waste management problems facing DOE and the nation. The council was asked to identify environmental needs of DOE, other federal agencies, and U.S. industry, especially needs common to all three groups. The council was also asked to work together to develop closer partnerships with U.S. industry and universities to solve environmental problems and promote U.S. leadership in the environmental market place.
As part of the first element of the strategy, the SLC will provide a periodic assessment of technology needs. To the extent possible, technology development should be closely aligned with comparable requirements of U.S. and global markets. The council's initial recommendations fall into two categories -- key technology thrusts, and cross-cutting technologies. The key technologies listed in the strategy document include rapid waste characterization and monitoring, noninvasive characterization of the subsurface, in situ containment and in situ decontamination, mixed/hazardous waste treatment, and pollutant source reduction. The cross-cutting technologies include robotics, environmental software, sensors, and risk assessment/systems analysis.
The report also includes a strategy for enhancing DOE's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) approach to technology development that suggests changes that would lead to: better awareness of industry needs and capabilities, better coordination within DOE/EM operations and the laboratories, better coordination among laboratories, designated funding for cooperative technology development with industry, and simpler approaches to establishing funding.
