Radioactive waste management and dismantling of nuclear facilities in Belgium. General organization and implementation

In Belgium, management of radioactive waste, superfluous enriched fissile materials, spent fuel and Pu-containing nuclear fuel, as well as various aspects of dismantling of nuclear facilities to be closed down are entrusted to ONDRAF/NIRAS, the national agency for radioactive waste and enriched fissile materials. For that purpose, ONDRAF/NIRAS has worked out and implements a long-term management programme, the aim of which is to enable the agency to carry out the missions it has been entrusted with: taking over and transport, processing and conditioning, interim storage and finally disposal of the radioactive waste generated in the country. In addition, ONDRAF/NIRAS has been put in charge of the dismantling of the nuclear facilities of the former EUROCHEMIC reprocessing plant in Dessel, of several processing and conditioning units of the former so-called Waste department of CEN/SCK in Mol and of the management of the decommissioning plans of nuclear facilities. The implementation of the long-term management programme requires important research and development activities as well as investment efforts. It is the aim of this paper to outline the long-term management programme ONDRAF/NIRAS has set up to carry out its missions in the field of radioactive waste and dismantling. (author)