It consists of an unloading basin, twostorage basins, a repackaging basin, a disassembly basin and an inspectionbasin, all under water. The basins and their interconnecting transfer canalshold about 500,000 gallons of water. A typical SRS-irradiated spent fuel elementis about 14 feet long and 3 to 4 inches in diameter. The packaged fuel is placed in two storage basins lined with phenolic-coatedresin based paint. Spent fuel elements arrive at RBOF's receiving and storage area in lead-lined casks weighing from 24 to 70 tons.
All work is performed under water, startingwith removal of the elements from their cask.
An overhead monorail hoisttransfer system moves individual fuel elements through canals to work basins,as required, and finally to one of the storage basins. Elements are set vertically in an aluminum frame in accordance with nuclear safety specifications. The elements can be inspected visually or through the use of an under water camera. Close to 10 feet of water covers the tops of the fuel packages, providing shielding from radiation. RBOF currently stores a variety of fuels,which can be processed in the existing SRS facilities.