Handling of radioactive materials
AssigneeThe South African Nuclear Energy Corporation Limited
InventorJohannes Samuel Frederik Botha
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Abstract
A radioactive material handling assembly (10) includes an outer housing (12) and an inner cell (14). The inner cell defines a radioactive material containment/handling chamber (16) and is removably mountable inside the outer housing. Handling means is operable from outside the inner cell to handle radioactive materials located in the containment/handling chamber. At least one of the outer housing and the inner cell is predominantly of a shielding material which is opaque to radioactivity.
Claims23
A radioactive material handling assembly, which includes
- an outer housing;
- an inner cell which defines a radioactive material containment/handling chamber and which is individually removably mountable inside the outer housing, the inner cell being complementary in shape to the outer housing when both are seen in horizontal section such that, when the inner cell is mounted inside the outer housing, a plurality of walls of the inner cell are adjacent corresponding walls of the outer housing, the inner cell being interchangeable with a plurality of other inner cells which are individually removably mountable inside the outer housing, with at least one of the outer housing and the inner cell being predominantly of a shielding material which is opaque to radioactivity;
- and
- at least two handling units configured to operate from outside the inner cell to handle radioactive materials located in the containment/handling chamber, the at least two handling units being mounted to respective walls of the inner cell, which walls are angularly spaced relative to each other about a vertical line of intersection between the walls or projections thereof such that the handling units are thus also angularly spaced from each other, when the inner cell is seen in plan view.
A method of operating a radioactive material handling assembly having an outer housing, to handle radioactive materials therein, the method including
- inserting, individually, an initial or first inner cell into the outer housing of the assembly such that the initial or first inner cell is individually mounted inside the outer housing with a plurality of walls thereof being adjacent corresponding walls of the outer housing;
- handling an initial or first radioactive material inside a containment/handling chamber of the initial or first inner cell from a position outside the outer housing;
- removing the initial or first inner cell from the outer housing;
- and
- inserting a second inner cell into the outer housing after removal of the initial or first inner cell from the outer housing and handling a second radioactive material inside a containment/handling chamber of the second inner cell, the second radioactive material being different from the initial or first radioactive material.
A radioactive material handling assembly comprising:
- an outer housing defined by outer housing walls including at least a first outer housing wall and a second outer housing wall that is angularly displaced from the first outer housing wall;
- an inner cell having a shape complementary to the outer housing and defined by inner cell walls including at least a first inner cell wall and a second inner cell wall that is angularly displaced from the first inner cell wall, the inner cell removably mountable inside the outer housing where, upon mounting, the first inner cell wall is adjacent the first outer housing wall and the second inner cell wall is adjacent the second outer housing wall;
- a first handling unit disposed at the first outer housing wall;
- and
- a second handling unit disposed at the second outer housing wall such that the second handling unit is angularly displaced from the first handling unit;
- wherein the first and second handling units extend from the exterior of the outer housing to the interior of the inner cell and are configured to handle radioactive materials located in the inner cell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.