Solid Radioactive Waste Strategy Report.pdf - UK EPR

EPR UK
N° NESH-G/2008/en/0123
REV. A PAGE 136 / 257
The service structure is limited since the proximity of the existing plant allows the use of existing
systems, such as HVAC.
Structures are designed considering not only the operational loads and the weather conditions
(e.g. the wind and snow loads), but also hazards of external origin (earthquake, flooding, aircraft
crash, explosion).
All of the storage equipment is such that – in normal operating conditions as well as in degraded
operation or in incident situations:
· subcriticality is ensured at all times;
· decay heat is removed;
· no unacceptable radiation exposure may occur for the public or the personnel.
The fuel elements placed in standard transport containers are transferred from the power plant
to the interim storage facility on a heavy vehicle running on a rail-track. Transport containers are
compatible with either wet or dry transport conditions and arrive in the horizontal position in the
wet storage facility.
In the reception area, the transport container is upended and transferred first to the floor of the
storage pool through a hatch in the ceiling and then into the container pool. The fuel elements
are unloaded using a special handling device operated from a crane.
In the pool the fuel elements are placed in compact storage racks. They are cooled by natural
convection of the pool and by water circulated from the bottom through the racks.
Criticality safety is always ensured by appropriately arranging the fuel elements in the racks, i.e.
by suitably spacing them out and by installing neutron absorbers in the storage racks.
Pool water cleaning systems are built into the pool to ensure good visibility for the operators
when handling the fuel.