Patent ID: 8884259

Claim:
A system for transferring a radioactive payload comprising: a first shielding container comprising a first cavity and a removable shielding lid, the radioactive payload located within the first cavity: a shield-gate apparatus comprising a body, a passageway extending along an axis through the body from a first opening in a top surface of the body to a second opening in a bottom surface of the body, and one or more movable shielding gates, the one or more shielding gates movable between: (1) a closed state in which the one or more shielding gates block the passageway; and (2) an open state in which the one or more shielding gates do not obstruct the passageway; the shield-gate apparatus positioned atop the first shielding container, the removable shielding lid having a bottom portion having a transverse cross-section that substantially corresponds to a transverse cross-section of the opening in the top surface of the body of the shield-gate apparatus in both size and shape.