SCK•CEN

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SCK•CEN (Studiecentrum voor Kernenergie - Centre d'Étude de l'énergie Nucléaire) is the Belgian nuclear research institute, situated in the municipality of Mol.

1 Organisation Profile
2 History
3 Mission
4 Important installations
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Organisation Profile

SCK•CEN is a public benefit corporation, set up under private law. The government supervises and finances the activities of SCK•CEN, but the employees are not civil servants. SCK•CEN has about 600 employees, of which one third have academic degrees. The revenue amounts to 80 million euro per year: 50% directly from a government grant, 40% from contract work and services and 10% via activities for the dismantling of declassified installations.

[edit] History

The SCK•CEN institute was founded in 1952 and originally named Studiecentrum voor de Toepassingen van de Kernenergie (Research Centre for the Applications of Nuclear Energy), abbreviated to STK. Land was bought in the municipality of Mol and over the next years many technical, administrative, medical and residential buildings were constructed on the site. From 1956 to 1964, four nuclear research reactors became operational: the BR1, BR2, BR3 and VENUS.

In 1963, SCK•CEN already employed 1300 people, a number that would remain about the same over the next decades. In 1970, SCK•CEN widened its field of activities outside the nuclear sector, but the emphasis remained on nuclear research. In 1990, SCK•CEN was split and a new institute, VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek; Flemish institute for technological research), took over the non-nuclear activities. SCK•CEN currently has about 600 employees.

[edit] Mission

SCK•CEN focusses on different topics in nuclear physics:

Nuclear safety and radiation protection
Medical and industrial applications of radiation
The back end of the nuclear fuel cycle (nuclear reprocessing and management of radioactive waste)
Nuclear decommissioning and decontamination of nuclear sites
The fight against nuclear proliferation

To these domains SCK•CEN contributes with research and development, training, communication and services. This is done with a view to sustainable development, and hence taking into account environmental, economical and social factors.

[edit] Important installations

BR1 (Belgian Reactor 1): The BR1 nuclear reactor became operational in 1956. It used graphite as a moderator, natural uranium as a nuclear fuel, and air as the coolant. The BR1 was the first operational nuclear reactor in Belgium and was used for production of radioisotopes and research.
BR2 (Belgian Reactor 2): The BR2 nuclear reactor became operational in 1961. It works on highly enriched uranium and is moderated and cooled by water. The BR2 is still one of the most powerful research reactors in the world. The reactor is used for the testing of fuels and materials for different reactor types, and for the production of radioisotopes.
BR3 (Belgian Reactor 3): The BR3 nuclear reactor was a pressurized water reactor (PWR) that produced its first chain reaction in 1962. It was the first PWR outside the United States and it was used as a prototype for the construction and operation of later commercial PWR power plants. The operatin of the reactor was stopped in 1987. As the first PWR reactor in Europe to be decommissioned, the decommissioning of the reactor is an important pilot project. The BR3 will be fully decommissioned in 2009.
VENUS (Vulcain Experimental Nuclear Study): VENUS is a zero power reactor, that became operational in 1964. The reactor can simulate the behavior of neutrons in Pressurized water reactors and Boiling water reactors.
MYRRHA: The MYRRHA project aims to construct a subcritical Accelerator-Driven System. The project started in 1997 and targets to put MYRRHA in service in 2014-2015.
HADES: HADES is the Belgian Underground Research Laboratory, located at a depth of -223 m in Boom Clay. It allows the in situ characterization of this clay layer presently studied as a reference host formation for the geological disposal of nuclear waste. HADES acronym stands for "High Activity Disposal Experimental Site". HADES facility is operated by the EURIDICE European Interest Group (EIG).