Every human activity generates waste. It arises, for instance, from the production of electricity in nuclear power plants, from the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and from the use of radioactive materials in medicine, agriculture, industry and research. Some of that waste is radioactive.
Most radioactive waste is very similar to domestic and industrial waste. It comprises a wide range of materials, tools, equipment, pipes, dismantled facilities and protective clothing that cannot be re-used and must be disposed of. There is one major difference, however, compared with domestic waste: radioactive waste contains substances that emit ionizing radiation.

Radioactive waste includes spent nuclear fuel, which has become highly radioactive after being used in a nuclear reactor.

Radioactive waste represents about 0,02% of all the domestic and industrial waste that is produced in Belgium.

What exactly is the problem?

Radioactive waste contains substances that emit ionizing radiation. This is a particularly high-energy form of radiation, which can alter the structure of the matter into which it penetrates. Ionizing radiation can therefore damage living tissue and can be dangerous for people and the environment.

Radioactivity diminishes over time, but until the radioactivity in this type of waste has decreased to a level that is acceptable for public health, scrupulous measures must be taken to ensure that the radiation cannot cause any harm to people or the environment.

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