Umicore’s response to the article published in De Tijd and L’Echo on Umicore’s radioactive material
On Umicore’s site in Olen radium and uranium products were produced from 1922 until the end of the 1970s. With the cessation of these historic activities, all buildings and installations containing radioactive materials were dismantled and remediated to ensure the safety of people and the environment. This was done under the supervision of the relevant government agencies and regulators who have continued to closely monitor these interim disposals ever since, FANC/AFCN (Federal Agency for Nuclear Control), NIRAS/ONDRAF (National Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials), the regional body OVAM (Public Waste Agency of Flanders).
The safety of people and the protection of the environment are Umicore’s top priorities. While the storage of these historical radioactive materials is under control and poses no risk to human health or the environment, Umicore and the government agencies have been working towards a permanent and final storage solution for a small portion of long-living low radioactive radium-containing materials.
We act with transparency towards residents and the municipality of Olen and provide information on our website.
Regarding the possible costs of this eventual permanent storage solution, it is not possible today to provide a more detailed cost estimate than what is included in our publicly available financial reports.
This is directly related to the nature of the materials concerned and to what may be designated as waste in the future. The distinction between “materials” and “waste,” and the use of the correct terminology, are important in this context.
At present, materials containing radium are located at the Olen site, originating from historical activities at the site. These materials are not currently classified as radioactive waste. Only a portion of these materials may eventually be designated as radium‑containing waste in the future and would then fall under the management of NIRAS/ONDRAF.
Even if a small portion were to be designated as waste this would not be classified under the existing nuclear waste classifications A, B and C. This type of waste requires a waste classification and legal framework of its own, which the government is currently developing.
The final classification of the materials will depend on ongoing studies, which are being carried out in close cooperation with the competent authorities (FANC/AFCN, OVAM, and NIRAS/ONDRAF). As long as this classification has not been determined, the exact scope of the remediation works cannot be defined and, consequently, the associated costs cannot be calculated.
In accordance with the applicable accounting rules, Umicore can only recognize provisions for known, clearly defined, and quantifiable obligations.
Once certain materials are officially classified as radioactive waste, they will be transferred to NIRAS/ONDRAF, which is legally responsible for their management and final disposal. The development of the legal and financial framework forms part of this process and will run in parallel with the development of the technical solutions.
Towards a sustainable solution for Umicore's radioactive legacy in Olen
Umicore's site in Olen, Belgium, has reinvented itself. Today, the site mainly focuses on research & development of clean, high-performance technologies and the production of high-tech materials based on cobalt, nickel and germanium. These critical metals are used, for example, in rechargeable batteries, the fiber optics industry or in lenses and solar cells for space satellites.
However, the site also has a historical footprint. Umicore's predecessors produced radium and uranium products in Olen from 1922 until the end of the 1970s. With the cessation of these historic activities, all buildings and installations containing radioactive materials were dismantled and remediated to ensure the safety of people and the environment.
This work was carried out under the supervision of the relevant government agencies and regulators who, together with Umicore, have continued to closely monitor these interim disposals ever since.
While the storage of this historical radioactive material is under control and poses no risk to human health or the environment, Umicore and the government agencies have been working towards a permanent and final storage solution of a small portion of long-living low radioactive radium-containing material.
It is the responsibility of federal nuclear agency NIRAS/ONDRAF to present a proposal for a national policy for each radio-active waste category to the Belgian government, so that a storage decision can be made. A key step in this process is the establishment of a policy framework that enables a definitive management solution for this low radioactive radium-containing type of waste.
By law, NIRAS/ONDRAF’s proposal is subject to a national consultation, which took place from December 2nd 2024 until March 2nd 2025. Following the analysis and feedback received, the agency submitted an updated proposal to the government in September 2025. The file is awaiting the government’s decision, which will determine the further development and execution of the remediation project.
Information on NIRAS/ONDRAF’s proposal can be found here: Nationale raadpleging / Consultation nationale - NIRAS/ ONDRAF (in Dutch and in French)
Umicore's historical liabilities in Olen
From 1922 until the late 1970s, Umicore's predecessors produced radium and uranium products. For example, uranium oxide was used in fuel rods for nuclear power plants while radium served as a personal care product in the early twentieth century, for example against wrinkles. Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie regularly carried out experiments with radium in Olen. The element formed the basis for nuclear medicine and was the only cancer treatment until the 1960s. The use of radium as a healthcare product gradually declined with new insights into its risks.
Storage of low-level radioactive material
In the late 1970s, the production of radium and uranium in Olen was discontinued. All radioactive buildings and installations were dismantled and stored according to the best available techniques and in consultation with the authorities.
Radioactive material from the production process was stored on Umicore’s property in Olen. The residues from these historical activities are low-level radioactive materials and cannot be compared in any way with the high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
These governmental agency, FANC/AFCN (Federal Agency for Nuclear Control) and the regional agency OVAM (Public Waste Agency of Flanders) carry out regular and detailed inspections on and around the site. The outcomes consistently confirm that there is no danger for people and the environment. The results are communicated to the local residents and Olen municipality.
Long-term solutions
A study commissioned by the Ministry of Public Health in the early 1990s showed that "at present, there is no danger for public health and the environment" in the immediate surroundings of the Olen site. At the same time, the study stressed that "an overall intervention concept for the full contamination problem in the area around Umicore in St-Jozef-Olen was essential" to ensure a safe transfer to future generations.
This led in 1993 to the creation of a monitoring committee responsible for the follow-up of all slightly radioactive zones located outside the plant's perimeter and the developing the most appropriate solution for the permanent disposal of what could eventually be classified as radioactive waste.
Umicore demolished and cleaned up the contaminated buildings outside the plant to structurally improve the situation and to provide effective long-term protection for people and the environment. In addition, Umicore put in place a monitoring program with an external radiation expert and periodic reporting to the authorities. This program involves inspections of the storage facilities, measurement of radon radiation, stability monitoring, and monitoring of groundwater quality.
Based on these monitorings, the authorities have consistently confirmed that there is no risk to the health of employees, local residents, or the environment.
Since 2009, Umicore and the federal and regional authorities have continued to work together to find a permanent and final solution for the disposal of what in the future could be classified as historical radioactive waste.
A clear legal framework
In early 2020, the federal government, through FANC/AFCN and NIRAS/ONDRAF (National Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials), published a vision paper which proposes a definitive, long-term destination for the radium-containing waste to settle once and for all the historical radioactive legacy at the Olen site.
Following this vision paper, "Management of Radium Waste at Umicore in Olen", drafted by FANC/AFCN and NIRAS/ONDRAF, a working group was created in 2021 to develop the concepts and to store the waste in a sustainable way in the long term. Depending on the specific radioactivity (Becquerel per gram), the memorandum prescribes various repository methods, ranging from above ground to underground storage, of under 300 meters.
The project, in which FANC/AFCN, NIRAS/ONDRAF, OVAM and Umicore are collaborating, and for which a roadmap was drawn up, includes the inventory, the creation of a legal framework as well as the design and construction of the necessary permanent facilities for the storage of radioactive waste.
The first phase of the roadmap was completed in early 2022. The second phase, which is currently underway, address the legislative and regulatory framework as well as the remediation options. It aims to establish a national policy and legislation for radium-containing waste. This will determine which fractions must ultimately be classified and managed as radioactive waste, and how this waste will be disposed of in a safe and sustainable way under the responsibility of NIRAS/ONDRAF.
Today, however, materials that contain radium are not officially classified as radioactive waste and can therefore not be treated nor remediated.
In parallel and separately, the federal government has put in place a legal framework for the management and remediation of soils and sites contaminated by radioactive substances. This framework, implemented by the FANC/AFCN, enables remediation and protective measures for radiologically contaminated soils. It complements the regulatory framework governing radioactive waste.
Once the legislation that regulates the disposal of radioactive waste is in place, it will clarify the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved.
Umicore is fully committed to these steps with the objective of finding a sustainable solution to the radioactive legacy of the Olen site as soon as possible.
Umicore has a good relationship and an open dialogue with its neighbors and with the local authorities. Through consultations, letters, site visits, and a 24/7 phone line, among others, we inform people living in the area and answer their questions.
Explanation of materials, waste and waste categories
At Umicore’s site in Olen, there are materials that contain radium from activities that took place more than 100 years ago. These materials are for the moment safely stored and monitored, but they are not automatically labelled as radioactive waste.
The difference is important:
- Materials are substances that still need to be studied, measured and assessed.
Depending on how much radioactivity they contain, they may:- be safely reused,
- be treated as conventional (non‑radioactive) waste, or
- eventually be classified as radioactive waste.
- Waste is the part that, after careful analysis and a formal government decision, is officially classified as radioactive waste and assigned to a specific disposal category (A, B or C), with a defined long‑term disposal solution.
However, for the radium‑containing materials in Olen, this classification has not yet taken place. The reason is that the government is still developing the national rules that determine when radium‑containing materials become radioactive waste and how that waste should be disposed of.
Because those rules are not yet in place:
- the materials cannot yet be placed into categories A, B or C, and
- no final disposal solution can be selected.
This does not mean the materials are unsafe or unmanaged. They are already subject to strict controls and oversight by the authorities. Once materials are classified as waste – and in Umicore’s case this entails a new type of waste category – they will be transferred to NIRAS/ONDRAF as the responsible authority. NIRAS/ONDRAF will manage the waste according to the appropriate category and disposal method.
Explanation of radioactive residue storage sites
Most of the tailings are stored in special facilities on the site, in line with the best available techniques, or in a former landfill. Another part, of which a fraction of the soil is radioactive, is located within a fenced former landfill off-site.
