System for pneumatic transport of particles of a hazardous substance

A system for pneumatically conveying particles, comprising:

• a pneumatic conveyer for conveying the particles to an exit using a carrier gas;
• and
• at least one input mechanism for conveying the particles to the pneumatic conveyer, each input mechanism comprising:
• a tubular chamber for receiving the particles;
• an input pipe extending from the tubular chamber for conveying the particles into the tubular chamber;
• an output pipe extending from a bottom of the tubular chamber;
• and
• a series of valves in the output pipe, comprising:
• an upper valve movable between a closed position and an open position,
• a middle valve movable between a closed position and an open position, and
• a lower valve;
• wherein:
• the upper valve and the middle valve in their respective closed positions define a storage chamber;
• the upper valve in its open position allows a portion of the particles to enter the storage chamber;
• the middle valve in its open position allows the portion of the particles to flow to the lower valve;
• and
• the lower valve is configured to convey the portion of the particles from the storage chamber to the pneumatic conveyer in a gradual fashion, wherein:
• the particles are nuclear fuel kernels;
• and
• the tubular chamber, the input pipe, and the output pipe have a maximum diameter of four inches to minimize the risk of a nuclear criticality accident.