ONDRAF/NIRAS ( nl, Nationale instelling voor radioactief afval en verrijkte Splijtstoffen, french: Organisme national des déchets radioactifs et des matières fissiles enrichies, german: Nationale Einrichtung für Radioaktive Abfälle und angereicherte Spaltmaterialien) is the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

National Agency for Radioactive Waste and enriched Fissile Material. It is established by

Belgian law The legal system of Belgium is based on the Napoleonic code. The Napoleonic code is the French civil code which was issued between 1804 and 1810. It clearly presents the French legal system. Belgium’s constitution is influenced by earlier const ...

since 1980.

Belgoprocess

Belgoprocess is the industrial subsidiary. It manages and executes the industrial activities of the agency. Belgoprocess was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of Synatom nv. Synatom is the

Electrabel Electrabel SA is a Belgian energy corporation. It is a subsidiary of French multinational utility company Engie S.A. (formerly GDF Suez). History Electrabel was established in 1905. Its actual name originates from 1990, after the regrouping of t ...

subsidiary that manages the fuel cycle for the commercial reactors in Belgium. In 1985 Belgoprocess acquired the staff from Eurochemics. A pilot nuclear reprocessing plant which was being decommissioned. In 1986 Belgoprocess was transferred to ONDRAF/NIRAS. The Site of the former Eurochemics plant in

Dessel Dessel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Dessel proper. In 2021, Dessel had a total population of 9,659 inhabitants. The total area is 27.03 km². Nuclear industries ...

is known as Belgoproces Site 1. In 1989 Belgoprocess also took over the waste department of

SCK•CEN SCK CEN (the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre), until 2020 shortened as SCK•CEN, is the Belgian nuclear research centre located in Mol, Belgium, more specifically near the township of Donk. SCK CEN is a global leader in the field of nuclear re ...

, the study center for nuclear research, in Mol now also known as Belgoproces Site 2.

Site ONDRAF Fleurus

In 2012 ONDRAF/NIRAS became responsible for the premises of the now defunct American company Best Medical Belgium, located on the site of the Institute for Radioelements(IRE) in

Fleurus Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

Belgium.

Long term storage

cAt-project

The cAt-project aims to offer a storage solution for low and intermediate

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapons r ...

with a short half-life (less than 30 years), so called category A waste. It is to be encased in modular concrete boxes which are stacked inside structures which ultimately will resemble

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

on a site adjacent to Belgoprocess Site 1. This structure is to be actively monitored for 300 years.

HADES

HADES is an underground laboratory, since 1980 it is researching if layers of clay as found in the North-East of Belgium could be used for permanent storage of nuclear waste. It is run by ONDRAF/NIRAS and SCK•CEN through EIG EURIDICE (European Underground Research Infrastructure for Disposal of nuclear waste In Clay Environment). In 2011 ONDRAF/NIRAS published the Waste Plan which evaluates all proposed storage solutions and concludes by recommending storage it in the aforementioned layers of clay.

Belgoprocess

Site ONDRAF Fleurus

Long term storage

cAt-project

HADES

References

External links