Oct 30 Moon containers are housed

The first shipment of the many specially designed steel containers, to be supplied by Bladt Industries, has now arrived at DD. Four so-called 'moon containers' were included in the shipment.

AAlthough the “Moon Containers” may at first glance resemble something from a Jules Verne novel, their nickname does not imply a journey into space. Instead, they are destined to be lowered deep into a container.

Since autumn 2014, a large container has housed a 17-ton, 2.5-meter-wide shielding ring that was previously positioned around the top of the DR 3 reactor tank. The space within and around the ring is also to be utilized, and the container's corners have already been filled with custom-made triangular frames. These frames contain several pipes that were previously mounted on top of the fuel elements.

The recently arrived moon containers are four quarter-moon shaped units designed to fit precisely into the center of the shielding ring. They will be filled with even more pipes of the same type.

But what about inside the circle of quarter-moons? There is just enough space for another of the specially designed, Jules Verne-esque containers. This winged cylinder will be filled with fragments of thin steel rods that have absorbed significant radiation within the reactor. When the cylinder is lowered as the final component, its four wings will wedge themselves between the moon containers and ensure that the entire container's puzzle of radioactive elements is securely anchored within the shielding.