Patent Number: 040000389
Section: claims

1. An underground nuclear power station including a nuclear reactor, machine components such as turbines, compressors, generators and heat exchangers, and a working medium circuit formed of gas conduits interconnecting the various power plant parts, and characterized in that a. the machine components are divided into groups, and these groups are located in separate rooms hollowed out of rock and having walls which support the components;  b. the conduits are situated in, and supported by the walls of, separate shafts hollowed out of rock;  c. each of said rooms has at least one access tunnel which is hollowed out of rock and leads to the atmosphere said access tunnel being large enough to permit transport therethrough of at least the largest component part of the machine group in the associated room; and  d. each access tunnel has means for secluding the atmosphere from a portion of said tunnel adjacent the associated room, whereby said portion serves as a safety chamber. 2. Nuclear power station according to claim 1, in which each tunnel has a cross-section sufficient for transporting therethrough the particular machine group to which it leads. 3. Nuclear power station according to claim 1, in which the walls of the rooms hollowed out in the rock are lined with a cast-on concrete layer. 4. Nuclear power station according to claim 3, in which the concrete layer comprises steel reinforcing means at least locally. 5. Nuclear power station according to claim 3, in which in that the concrete layer contains a prestressed cable system at least locally. 6. Nuclear power station according to claim 1, in which the chambers provided in tunnels are secludable by means of doors. 7. Nuclear power station according to claim 1, in which the longitudinal axes of the rooms and the tunnels in the rock extend substantially vertically. 8. Nuclear power station according to claim 1, in which the longitudinal axes of the rooms and the tunnels in the rock extend substantially horizontally.