Patent Number: 047769823
Section: description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It will be easier to handle the spent fuel after it is taken out of the reactors if it is placed in an acid bath to separate the metal cans of the fuel rods from the fuel. The liquid material is then converted into pellets for direct transfer to a vehicle. The material may also be subjected to a separation process whereafter the different waste products will be stored in separate containers. Another procedure is for the fuel, with the metal cans, to be loaded directly onto the vehicle for transport to the storage place. In an underground storage room 9, blasted out of rock 7, a rail-mounted material handling device approx. 5 meters.times.5 meters in plan and 11 meters in height is arranged to run along a track 6. The material handling device consists of two sections, section 4 arranged to be raised and lowered and equipped with a transfer container for the transfer of spent fuel to and from storage containers, and a section 5 with lifting and carrying arrangements. Section 4 thus functions as a transfer device and section 5 functions as a lifting and carrying device material handling device. The material handling device is designed to fit into lift 8 for moving spent fuel from ground level down to the storage room 9, and to carry and transfer fuel to double-walled containers 1. The double-walled containers the double walls of which are shown diagrammatically as 1A and 1B in FIG. 1, are stacked one on top of the other on a structure 3 which is designed to suit the lifting and carrying section 5. This section can, when required, run under structure 3, lift up one stack of containers, and shift it onto a structure common to both sections for transport from storage room 9. The material of the containers and arrangements for heat removal and cooling comply with accepted engineering practice and are of types approved by the authorities. The containers are provided with safety valve arrangements 2 with three safety locks to prevent radioactive material from escaping during transfer to or from the transfer container of section 4. Transfer is effected either by remote control or manually. The method for heat removal to cool the radioactive material may be chosen according to the practical use the heat is to be put to, such as water heating. The heat can be removed from the space between the inner and outer walls of the containers by a heat exchange medium e.g. air, liquid or gas through inlet-outlet conduits 21 and 22, illustrated diagramatically in FIG. 1 connected to one of the containers 1. When the thermal radiation from the material decreases and there is no longer any need for heat removal or cooling, the material can be transferred into cheaper containers. The material is easily transferred from the double-walled container and moved to another storage place, e.g. after a decision to reprocess it. The containers, which are shown in FIG. 1 as resting on a structure 3 and are adapted to lifting and carrying section 5, may alternatively be cast into concrete. It will be apparent from the foregoing that my invention provides a safe, inexpensive, and practical means of handling and storing spent nuclear fuel. Human contact with the equipment will be negligible.