Once again, NIRAS confirms its trust in Sweco as a reliable partner by granting an important framework contract for the site monitoring and site supervision during the execution of the surface disposal of radioactive waste of category A (cAt project) on the site in Dessel.

On 26 June 2006, the federal government gave NIRAS the assignment in order to realize the cAt project. This project offers a solution for the disposal of category A waste in Belgium, the low and intermediate active short-lived waste.

The disposal facility in Dessel will offer a solution for the disposal of the Belgian category A waste: both the category A waste that arises today, and is temporarily stored in the Belgoprocess buildings, and the category A waste that will arise in the future, for example during the decommissioning of the nuclear installations. It is processed and conditioned radioactive waste containing a small amount of radioactive substances, including only a very limited amount of long-lived substances. Owing to these properties, category A waste is eligible for storage on the surface. The aim of radioactive waste management is to encase radioactive substances on the one hand, so that they do not end up in the environment, and on the other hand to separate them, so that people do not come into direct contact with them. Surface disposal is a long-term solution that traps the waste in a passive way and separates it from people and the environment. This during the time that the waste needs to lose most of its radioactivity owing to decay of short-lived elements (approx. 300 years). This ensures safety without future generations actively concerning themselves with the waste.

The global project consists of several subprojects:

• the Communications Centre (Tabloo)
• the Access Cluster
• the Caisson factory
• the Plant for the Production of Monoliths (IPM)
• the Disposal Facility
• the Test Cover

Assignment
The assignment for Sweco comprises the organization and execution of site monitoring and site supervision in the realization of the cAt project. More specifically, it involves the daily supervision and management in terms of conformity, quality, documentation, test programs, quantity control and safety.

The site supervision will partly be organized according to area of expertise. This includes the following disciplines: civil engineering (with specific attention to earthworks, infrastructure works, concrete works and steel structures), automation, HVAC, electricity, gantry cranes, process installations, instrumentation and security systems.

The assignment consists of the technical support for the realization of the cAt project and includes the following elements:

• daily supervision of compliance with the specifications and execution planning, including reporting;
• supervising the planning of the execution of the Quality Control;
• permanent quality control on the implementation;
• collecting and documenting all quality documentation (registrations, inspections, hold and witness points, etc.);
• drawing up a photo file, taking into account specific provisions for aspects that are NUC confidential;
• drawing up the implementation specifications of tests and inspections;
• checking the quantities implemented or supplied;
• document management in the framework of the specifications and the execution of the assignment, status monitoring;
• topographical surveys (if required);
• attention for safety situation on the site wherein Sweco has an exemplary role in this respect.