In May NIRAS presented a definitive report to the government that contained all the elements to allow the government to make a properly informed decision concerning the follow-up to be given to the program for the disposal of low and medium active short-lived waste.

As a result of the decision of the municipalities Fleurus and Farciennes in February to withdraw from the project, only the neighbouring municipalities of Dessel and Mol still remain candidates for accepting a disposal installation for category A-waste, under specific conditions.

The council of ministers of 23 June 2006 decided to dispose of the low and medium active short-lived waste in a surface disposal installation on the territory of the municipality Dessel. This decision makes it possible to develop the next phase of the program so that a disposal installation may be realized concretely.

	A short overview of the category A dossier
	Why is this decision important ?
	The federal government defined the further progress
	Delineation of a future programme
	Continuation of the participation

The following documents are also available:

	The brochure "A long-term solution for Belgian low- and medium-level short-lived waste" (PDF - 445K)
	The press release: only available in French (PDF - 143K) and in Dutch (PDF - 83K)

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A short overview of the category A dossier

The council of ministers of 16 January 1998 was the impulse for NIRAS to turn its back on the traditional engineer’s approach and to evolve to a more participatory approach. This approach was given shape in the establishment of local partnerships in municipalities where a nuclear zone is situated.

Together with NIRAS three partnerships contributed to the development of one or more integrated preliminary designs for the disposal of category A-waste in their municipality:

Eight years after the decision of the counsel of ministers the three partnerships developed five integrated preliminary designs for disposal in total. These preliminary designs were submitted for approval to the municipal councils of the municipalities concerned. The municipalities of Dessel and Mol accepted the integrated preliminary designs for disposal from their partnerships on the terms that the conditions linked to their preliminary designs are fulfilled. The integrated preliminary design for disposal of the PaLoFF partnership was concluded as a result of the decisions of the municipal councils of Fleurus and Farciennes to withdraw from the project.

The four integrated preliminary designs for disposal that were presented to the government, are sufficiently mature to be studied in detail during the design phase. According to NIRAS these preliminary designs comply with the conditions the council of ministers formulated in its decision of 16 January 1998 and the financing thereof could be ensured by means of adapted financing mechanisms.

All these elements allowed the council of ministers to make a decision on 23 June 2003 concerning the further development of the program: the disposal of category A-waste on the surface in Dessel.

	An integrated approach tailored to the local community
	Surface disposal

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Why is this decision important ?

In the first place the decision of the council of ministers valorises the work that the municipalities and the partnerships have done. Thanks to the very good dossiers realised via an extremely democratic process, the government could decide to choose between safe and socially acceptable disposal solutions. This is undoubtedly a unique event in the management of radioactive waste in Belgium.

This decision also allows NIRAS to continue its program without interruption and to preserve the dynamism in the partnerships so that a definitive design of the disposal installation will be available within five to six years.

Finally the decision of the council of ministers makes an efficient financial and industrial management of the waste possible: as the final destination is known a coherent policy can be formulated over the entire line for low and medium active short-lived waste.

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The federal government defined the further progress

As NIRAS has now come to the end of the tasks entrusted to it by the council of ministers in its decision of 16 January 1998, and has presented a definitive report to the government. This report contains all the elements to allow the government to make a properly informed decision concerning the follow-up to be given to the program for the disposal of low and medium active short-lived waste. On the basis thereof the council of ministers of 23 June 2006 opted for the integrated preliminary design of surface disposal developed by STOLA-Dessel (www.stora.org).

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Delineation of a future program

As a result of the decision of the council of ministers of 23 June 2006 NIRAS can proceed to the next phase of the program: the realisation of a concrete design for integrated surface disposal on the territory of the municipality of Dessel.

During the design phase the integrated preliminary design for disposal will evolve from its current status to a project ready to be implemented, namely a project for which a binding agreement is realised between all the players involved and for which all the necessary permits have been acquired. The design studies will consequently relate to all aspects of the integrated disposal project: disposal installation, corresponding conditions, financing and legal aspects, preparation of the dossiers in relation to nuclear and non-nuclear permit applications, etc.

The continuation of the participatory process and the central role of the partnerships are essential to the future program. The partnerships STOLA-Dessel and MONA and their municipalities hold the opinion that also after the selection of one integrated disposal project on the territory of one of either municipalities, the other municipality and its partnership must be able to continue to participate in the further decision-making process. In order to ensure equal treatment of the interests an appropriate participatory model will be developed in this new phase.

Once NIRAS has received the concrete and complete content of the government’s decision it will formulate this new phase together with all the parties involved so that the decision may be implemented in practice. The design phase, in which all the necessary detail studies will be carried out, should end in a binding agreement that defines the rights and duties of the various parties and the acquisition of the permits for formation and operation.

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Continuation of the participation

In accordance with the wishes of STOLA-Dessel and MONA and the two municipalities, the participatory process is continued in the form of partnerships in Dessel and in Mol, and expanded to waste management in general.

The STORA (Studie en Overleg Radioactief Afval) [Research and Consultation on Radioactive Waste] partnership, the successor to STOLA-Dessel, was formed on 27 April 2005. The articles of association of the MONA partnership were amended on 24 November 2005, and the name vzw, Mols Overleg Nucleair Afval Categorie A [not for profit, Mols Consultation on Category A Nuclear Waste], was changed to Mols Overleg Nucleair Afval [Mols Consultation on Nuclear Waste].

Both partnerships and municipalities hold the opinion that also after the selection of one integrated disposal project on the territory of one of either municipalities, the other municipality and its partnership must be able to continue to participate in the further decision-making process.

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For more information:

The STORA website - www.stora.org

The MONA website - www.monavzw.be

See our list of publications in French or Dutch (heading: "Long-term management of low-level and short-lived waste")

If you don't understand a term, please refer to our glossary.