In the 1980s, SCK CEN employees were bribed to receive and store high-level nuclear waste from the West German firm Transnuklear.

SCK CEN is a foundation of public utility with a legal status according to private law, under the guidance of the Belgian Federal Ministry in charge of energy.

[3] The organization receives 25% of its funding directly from government grants, 5% indirectly via activities for the dismantling of declassified installations and 70% from contract work and services.

It is a high-flux reactor (~ 1015 neutron・cm-2・s-1) in which neutrons are moderated by a beryllium matrix and cooled by light water pumped at low pressure (12-15 bar).

One reports that its very compact core architecture was quickly drawn on a beer mat during a discussion between nuclear physicists in a bar in New York during a very creative night at the end of the 1950s, or beginning 1960.

[4] The European Commission selected BR3 as a pilot project to show the technical and economic feasibility of the dismantling of a reactor under real conditions.

As part of the GUINEVERE project, SCK CEN decided to re-build the VENUS reactor into a scale model of Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS).

Because the system sucks up large quantities of air, SCK CEN can detect very low concentrations of radioactivity in the airborne dust.

Extensive contributions are made to extend the present Belgian expertise in the field of developments related to GEN IV reactor systems and ITER.

In co-operation with the industry and international research teams, R&D efforts are made to develop and test innovative reactor technologies and instrumentation.

radiobiology and -ecology, environmental chemistry, decommissioning, radioactive waste management and disposal, SCK CEN also delivers high-quality[citation needed] measurement services such as radiation dosimetry, calibration, and spectrometry.

Throughout its more than 60 years of research experience in the field of peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology, SCK CEN has also conducted education and training (ACA[clarification needed (complicated jargon)]).

Final-year students and Ph.D. candidates can enter a programme outlined together with a SCK CEN mentor and in close collaboration with a university promotor.

When the Flemish Institute for Technological Research was set up, a number of apartments were transferred, but the majority of the district is still owned by the study center.

On behalf of the Belgian Ministry of Social Affairs and Public Health, Sciensano conducted the Nucabel 2 study from 9 January 2017 to 30 June 2020.

This national epidemiological study focuses on the possible health risks, mainly cancer, for people living in the vicinity of Belgian nuclear sites.

The results of Nucabel 2 state that the incidence in the close vicinity (< 5 km) of the Mol-Dessel nuclear site is 3 times higher than the rest of Belgium.

However, the results of this study - as the Sciensano researchers also indicate - cannot establish a causal link between the occurrence of cancer cases and the proximity of the Mol-Dessel site.

The effective dose of all atmospheric discharges and all exposure routes of the SCK CEN installations amounts to a maximum of 2 micro Sv (μSv) per year.