Every human activity generates waste. It originates, for instance, from the production of electricity in nuclear facilities, and from the use of radioactive materials in medicine, agriculture and industry. Radioactive waste is an inevitable part of our society, and something that has to be managed.

The Belgian government wants to ensure that the general public is effectively protected from the potential hazards arising from radioactive waste. The management of this type of waste is therefore its responsibility. Since radioactive waste management requires particular expertise, the task has been entrusted to a separate government agency created in 1980: the Belgian Agency for Management of Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials, known by the French/Dutch acronym ONDRAF/NIRAS.