Patent Number: 048511854
Section: claims

1. In a system having a pool of liquid in which a radiation emitting component is immersed for shielding said component with respect to radiation emitted by said component, the method of shielding a portion of such component extending above the upper surface of the liquid of said pool which comprises: surrounding the portion of the upper end of said component which extends above the upper surface of said pool of liquid with a vessel having a top end wall and a side wall, said top end wall being disposed above and spaced from the extending upper end of said component and said side wall extending around and being disposed with said side wall spaced from the sides of said component and with the lower end of said side wall extending into said pool of liquid; and  evacuating gas in said vessel to draw liquid from said pool into said vessel until the upper level of the surface of said liquid in said vessel is above said extending upper end of said component. 2. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said vessel has an open lower end and after said component is immersed in said pool, said vessel is lowered over said component with said lower end lowermost and said gas is pumped from the upper portion of said vessel by pumping means connected for fluid flow with the interior of said vessel and to said end wall. 3. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein after said upper level of the surface of said liquid is above said upper end of said component, the last-mentioned said level is maintained until it is desired to expose said component at which time gas is admitted into said vessel to cause the level of the upper surface of the liquid in said vessel to lower. 4. The method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the interior dimensions of said vessel are selected in relation to the interior dimensions of said upper portion of said component so as to provide an amount of said liquid between said top end wall and said side wall sufficient to reduce the amount of radiation from said component and outside said vessel to no more than one-twentieth the amount of radiation in the absence of said amount of liquid between said top end wall and said side wall and said upper portion of said component. 5. The method as set forth in claim 4 wherein said interior dimensions of said vessel are selected to provide at least two feet of said liquid between the interior of said vessel and the exterior of said upper portion of said component.