World first: SCK CEN research center in Mol will recycle radioactive residues | Interior

The amount of the investment is not known, but director-general Peter Baeten speaks of several tens of millions of euros. The so-called RECUMO installation will turn radioactive residues into a ‘reusable raw material’. “A textbook example of the circular economy,” says Baeten.

The radioactive residues come from the production process of medical radioisotopes on the site of the National Institute of Radioelements (IRE). The remains therefore certainly do not come from the nuclear power plants of Doel or Tihange. RECUMO’s main goal is a reduction of nuclear waste as well as the security of supply of uranium in our own country.

“Belgium ranks among the world leaders in the field of nuclear medicine,” says Erich Kollegger, CEO of the IRE. SCK CEN and IRE together are responsible for a quarter of the worldwide production of medical radioisotopes. These are radioactive particles that can be used to detect and treat cancers, heart disease and other diseases.

“We have been helping millions of patients for more than fifty years now,” says Kollegger. “In order to continue to fulfill this social role, a structural solution had to be found for the radioactive residues (from the site in Fleurus, ed.) that remain after the production process.” The main goal is to recover uranium so that the high-quality material can be reused.

Recycled radioactive residues can serve as fuel for research reactors or as so-called ‘targets’ for the production of radioisotopes. “In this way, RECUMO ensures the worldwide supply security of medical radioisotopes”, says Baeten.

“RECUMO uses state-of-the-art technology in the field of radiochemistry for the purification process,” SCK CEN also reports. “In the 1980s, the technique was already being carried out on a laboratory scale. We have now refined, optimized and fine-tuned the technique so that we can apply it on a semi-industrial scale. Unique in the world.”

The RECUMO project is also supervised by Euratom and the United States. They impose and monitor strict compliance with various nuclear safety and security standards.