Patent ID: 7676016

Claim:
A ventilated system for storing high level waste emitting heat, the system comprising: an air-intake shell forming a downcomer air-intake cavity; a plurality of storage shells, each storage shell forming a substantially vertical storage cavity, the plurality of storage shells arranged so as to surround the air-intake shell in a side-by side relationship; a hermetically sealed canister for holding high level waste positioned in one or more of the storage cavities so that a gap exists between the storage shell and the canister, the storage cavities having horizontal cross-sections that accommodate no more than one of the canisters; a removable lid positioned atop each of the storage shells so as to form a lid-to-shell interface, each lid containing an outlet vent forming a passageway between an ambient environment and the storage cavity; a network of pipes forming hermetically sealed fluid passageways between a bottom portion of the downcomer air-intake cavity and a bottom portion of each of the storage cavities; the downcomer air-intake cavity forming a passageway from the ambient environment to the network of pipes; and wherein the network of pipes is configured so that the quantity of air drawn by each of the storage shells adjusts to comply with Bernoulli's law.