Demolition work started for PALLAS-reactor site

Beelen Sloopwerken starts this week with major demolition work on the Energy & Health Campus (EHC) in Petten on the site where the new PALLAS-reactor is being built. The old chemical laboratory and the old materials science laboratory, of both approx. 65 x 50 metres, have been remediated and emptied radiologically, chemically and asbestos in recent months. In addition to the old laboratories, the south-facing 40-metre-high chimney is also disappearing. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2020.

Beelen Sloopwerken expects very limited inconvenience for local residents in the coming months, because the demolition work will take place behind the dunes on the EHC. However, it is possible that local residents will experience some inconvenience during the supply of large equipment, which will be transported via the N9 and the N502. This will take place in the early morning hours before 07:00 o’clock.

After the demolition of the buildings, Foundation Preparation Pallas-reactor (PALLAS) will start the preparatory work on the construction site. After obtaining the Nuclear Energy Act license, expected in 2021, the first activities related to the construction of the reactor will start. PALLAS is the new medical isotope reactor that will replace the High Flux Reactor (HFR) on the EHC. This will make it possible to continue to help millions of people with life-threatening diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases in the future, both in terms of diagnosis and therapy.

Over the past few months, a lot of hard work has been put into making the buildings empty and ready for demolition. Among other things, specific attention was paid to the duty of care for protected species. For example, together with an ecologist, the whereabouts of the common dwarf bat was made unsuitable in accordance with the requirements imposed in the flora and fauna exemption. The employees also found a skinned magpie and a mummified wagtail in the old laboratories, which were still completely intact due to the climate control of the old laboratories. Both animals are housed at Naturalis.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the demolition work or if you are inconvenienced by the work, please do not hesitate to contact us.