Belgium's first decommissioning of a reactor

For almost 40 years, the Thetis research reactor served as a testing ground for nuclear research on the UGent campus. In 2003, the reactor was shut down, but it took years until the most risky parts of the reactor; the fuel rods, had cooled down sufficiently for transport. In 2010, Belgoprocess started discharging and processing the old fuel. What remained behind was the activated structure in the reactor vessel and the infrastructure for cooling and ventilation, among other things. In 2013, Mourik was commissioned by nuclear processor Belgoprocess to remove asbestos-containing ventilation pipes from the reactor. But soon we were asked to also dismantle the rest of the reactor. This was a real pioneering project for Mourik and for Belgium. And it is still the benchmark for nuclear decommissioning in our country.

Demolition and dismantling with extreme safety awareness

Nuclear decommissioning and decontamination have much in common with asbestos removal. The handling and removal of nuclear material requires meticulous work, with extreme safety awareness of the people doing the job. We brought and bring the operational knowledge and experience to make plans for decontamination and decommissioning practically workable. That includes the treatment of contaminated materials at the decommissioning site, the determination of radiation levels and thus the division into waste streams. Right up to the release of waste for conventional treatment or recycling when possible.

Demolition robot wins innovation award

We work in nuclear decommissioning according to the ALARA principle. This principle means reducing the risk of radiation and contamination of people, animals, plants and goods as much as reasonably possible: "As Low As Reasonably Achievable". For us, this means always looking for ways to allow people to work at a safe distance. We carried out the dismantling of the Thetis reactor using a demolition robot we developed ourselves, based on our experience in industrial cleaning and catalyst. With this, we removed the activated components in the reactor and other nuclear materials, reduced them in size and packed them for transport. This was safer, but also more efficient. In fact, thanks to the robot, we were able to reduce the size of the nuclear material and thus pack it in fewer drums. That meant less transport and therefore less risk.

We carried out this task under the supervision of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control and radiation experts from Ghent University. It was the first nuclear decommissioning in Belgium. Since then, Mourik has become one of the few experts in this field. We have a team of specialists in asbestos, nuclear materials and all the processes and protocols involved. Think work plans and permits, 3D drawings, transport, quality, sustainability and, of course, safety. Our added value lies in technical knowledge, practical experience and also the capacity to scale up quickly with people and equipment when needed. See also our complementary technologies, knowledge and experience in asbestos removal, industrial cleaning and catalyst.