Patent Number: 059206020
Section: description

The figures show sections of a storage facility for radioactive waste formed in a mountain, particularly heat-generating waste, such as spent fuel elements. The storage facility comprises a transport gallery 10, beneath which runs a storage gallery 12. The transport gallery 10 having in cross-section the geometry of a semi-ellipse or semi-oval has a concrete floor 14 on the one hand covering the storage gallery 12 of rectangular section and on the other hand having openings 18 closable via covers 16 and giving access to the storage gallery 12, in order to introduce or remove radioactive waste in the manner described in the following. The storage gallery 12 itself has a concrete floor 20 and is protected against earthquakes by side struts 22. The opening is are also closable by concrete covers 16. To ensure safe fitting of the cover 6 into the opening 18 and to shield it from the storage gallery 12, the cover 16 has all all-round flange, not however shown in detail, that can be set down on a step of the opening 18, also not shown in detail. As FIGS. 2 to 4 make clear, the lateral extent of the transport gallery 10 is greater than that of the storage gallery 12. The width of the transport gallery 10 is preferably two to three times that of the storage gallery 12. The advantage of this is that rock thrusts are diverted well away, thereby creating a long-term and strong cavern as the storage gallery 12 that requires no further expansion. To remove the cover 16 from an opening 18 or to close it, a movable carriage 24 with a holding device 26 for the cover 16 is provided. The carriage 24 moves on rails 28, 30 that are arranged on both sides of the openings 18 arranged in a row along the transport gallery 10. A conveying container 32 is also movable on the rails 28 and 30 in order to pick up waste for interim storage from a transport container 34, move it inside the transport gallery 10 and then set it down in the storage gallery 12 via one of the openings 18, and vice versa. The waste itself is in an inner container 36 of the transport container 34, which can have a conventional design, i.e. closable with a single or double cover, for example, which is howsoever not shown in FIG. 1. In order to remove the inner container 36 together with the waste from the transport container 34, the latter is initially moved into a cell 38 which is shielded over its circumference by concrete walls 40. On the top the cell 38 has an opening 42 which can be traversed by the converting container 32 in order to pick up the inner container 36. To that end, the conveying container 32 is picked up by a conveying carriage 44 such as a caterpillar unit in order on the one hand to be raised/lowered and on the other hand to be moved along the floor 14. The conveying container 32 is closable at the bottom by means of a plate 46 movable parallel to the floor 14 of the transport gallery 10 and extending from a frame 48 that is part of the conveying container 32 and that can be picked up by the conveying carriage 44. Furthermore, a conveying unit 50 extends inside the conveying container 32 in order to remove the inner container from the transport container 34 and to place it inside the storage gallery 12 via one of the openings 18 and vice versa. In order to place an inner container 36 with waste for interim storage inside the storage gallery 12, the caterpillar unit 44 and hence the conveying container 32 are first moved to a required opening 18 in the floor 14 of the transport gallery 10. Then the cover 16 is lifted using the carriage 24 and moved laterally to the opening 18, in order to permit alignment of the conveying container 32 with the opening 18 and lowering of the inner container 36, as is made clear in FIG. 3. Once the inner container 36 has been set down on the floor 20 of the storage gallery 12 and the conveying container 32 has been moved clear of the opening 18, the latter is closed using the cover, as shown in FIG. 4. The cover 16 is designed as a shielding cover, so that the storage area is separated from the transport gallery 10 in respect of the effects of radiation. The conveying container 32 can then once again be moved to the cell 38 using the caterpillar unit 44 in order to pick up a further inner container. It is also possible to remove and transfer inner containers 36 from the storage gallery 12. The same measures are taken when the inner container 36 is to be removed from the interim storage facility and transferred to a final storage facility. It may only be necessary here to provide the inner container 36 with corrosion protection before it is placed in final storage. The fact that only inner containers 36 are placed inside the storage gallery 12 and are accessible from above means that the storage gallery can be designed fairly narrow. One advantage of this is that favorable air flows result when ventilation ducts lead upwards out of the storage gallery 12 and have a good cooling effect on the waste. Furthermore, the storage gallery 12 can be sealed at the end by filtering devices. The width of the transport gallery 10 should be about 2 to 3 times that of the storage gallery 12, in order to divert rock thrusts away from the storage gallery 12.