U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has called for a special Senate hearing on whether an ongoing review of the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) in Oak Ridge could serve as a model to improve oversight of U.S. Department of Energy projects.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., has called for a special Senate hearing on whether an ongoing review of the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) in Oak Ridge could serve as a model to improve oversight of U.S. Department of Energy projects.

In a hearing held by the Appropriations Subcommittee for Energy and Water Development, of which he is the lead Republican, Alexander noted that Thom Mason, Oak Ridge National Laboratory director, is currently conducting a “Red Team” review of DOE’s UPF, a press release said. Mason’s Red Team members are using the same process that has made the Office of Science the only office in DOE that successfully manages efficient and cost-effective projects, Alexander said.

“They are going to give us a report this month on what we need to do to keep it within budget and still meet the objective,” Alexander said of the Red Team. “I don’t want to prejudge the report. Maybe it will turn out to be something we want. But I like the process.”

During his questioning of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, Alexander continued, “You have within your Department … almost all the largest government construction projects in the country. You’ve got them all. Just about. All the biggest ones. And they are headed to the moon in terms of costs.”

Alexander also said, “We’re glad the uranium facility will be creating so many good jobs in Tennessee in a safer working environment. But Tennesseans pay taxes, too. We want to get a handle on the cost of these big, complex projects.”

Alexander asked, “It is such a simple thing but it’s a question of accountability, and who is on the flagpole? Who is responsible for a specific result?”

Moniz was testifying before the Appropriations Subcommittee for Energy and Water Development as part of a hearing on the DOE’s 2015 budget request, the release said. Alexander cited the following DOE projects and their costs as causes for concern:

• UPF, which would process uranium for nuclear weapons systems had an initial cost estimate of $650 million. The current projected cost estimate has risen to $4 billion to $6.5 billion.

 • MOX (Mixed Oxide Fuel) Facility in Savannah River, S.C., which would use plutonium from nuclear weapons for fuel in commercial nuclear power plants, had an initial cost estimate of $4.8 billion and has risen to $13 billion to $25 billion with current projections.

• ITER, an international project seeking to design and build a fusion power reactor. The initial cost estimate was $1.1 billion to $2.2 billion, but that has risen to estimates of $4 billion to $6 billion.

• Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Facility in Los Alamos, N.M, which would produce plutonium pits for nuclear weapons, was first estimated to cost $400 million. Those projections now stand between $3.7 billion to $5.8 billion.