The Department of Energy office overseeing contaminated nuclear sites ended fiscal 2025 with a 45% vacancy rate, raising concerns over safety, delays and long-term cleanup costs.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The federal office charged with managing radioactive waste cleanup across former U.S. nuclear weapons and research sites is facing a major staffing shortage, with a new watchdog report warning that vacancies could undermine work at some of the nation’s most hazardous contaminated facilities.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management ended fiscal 2025 with a 45% vacancy rate, according to a Government Accountability Office report cited by Just the News. The office’s workforce dropped from 1,272 employees in 2023 to 856 by the end of last year, according to the GAO report.
The Office of Environmental Management oversees a cleanup mission spanning former weapons production and nuclear research sites in multiple states, including New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington. The work includes managing contaminated buildings, radioactive waste, polluted groundwater and soil affected by decades of federal nuclear activity.
The GAO said the office “has become further understaffed” and warned that vacancies are affecting jobs “integral to carrying out EM’s mission.”
The shortages are concentrated in highly technical and safety-related roles, including nuclear engineers, physical scientists and safety specialists. According to the report, those positions are essential for “addressing contaminated buildings, soil, and groundwater, and treating radioactive waste.”
The workforce decline accelerated during fiscal 2025 as federal workforce reduction programs took effect. The GAO found that 409 employees left the office that year, with 76% departing through the government’s Deferred Resignation Program. Nearly half of those departures, or 180 employees, were in mission-critical jobs.
The staffing problems come as the Energy Department continues overseeing one of the federal government’s largest and most expensive long-term cleanup efforts. The total cost of the program is now “estimated to cost more than half a trillion dollars,” according to the GAO.
The watchdog warned that the vacancy rate could worsen problems that have already affected the cleanup program for years, including rising costs, delayed schedules and safety incidents. The report said earlier staffing shortages “had led to cost overruns, schedule delays, and accidents, including fires and radiation spills.”
Investigators also repeated prior warnings that “without efforts to address workforce challenges, severe staffing shortages threatened EM’s ability to meet its mission.”
The remaining workforce is also nearing a wave of retirements. As of the end of fiscal 2025, the GAO found that “35 percent of EM’s remaining staff, and 30 percent in mission-critical occupations, will be eligible for retirement by 2030.”
Energy Department officials told investigators they plan to hire about 174 employees in fiscal 2026 to help replace some of the lost staff. At the same time, the department is reviewing staffing requirements and considering possible restructuring.
Nuclear safety experts have long warned that institutional knowledge is critical in radioactive waste cleanup because projects can take decades and require specialized technical oversight. The GAO’s findings add new urgency to those concerns as the federal government continues managing contaminated Cold War-era facilities and radioactive materials across the country.
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