30 Sep An Empty Pool

For the past 60 years, a pool has been used to store radioactive items from Danish Reactor 3. The last contaminated pipes have now been removed from the pool.

TThe so-called cutting pool is almost five meters deep and is located in a hall adjacent to the reactor building. Water effectively shields against ionizing radiation, so while the reactor was operational, the pool was used to store spent uranium fuel. Once a fuel element was depleted, the fuel rod was transferred to a gigantic “cigar cutter” at the edge of the pool. The rod was cut from the top and slid down a chute. Underwater, it was placed in a saw that cut off the ends, leaving only the encapsulated fuel element. This was then placed in a rack within the pool, where it awaited the return of a suitable quantity of fuel to its country of origin.

Since 2002, when the last fuel elements were shipped to the USA, the pool has been used to store and process irradiated pipes and other elements that were utilized in the research reactor. The pool has now been definitively emptied of all contaminated items, as part of the general cleanup following many years of experimental activities.

Over the past few weeks, a 23-ton transport 'flask' has been shuttling to and from the pool to retrieve the last of numerous items. Some of these had been suspended by ropes along the side, while others simply lay at the bottom. One by one, they were hoisted into the lead-lined flask and, after half an hour of draining, transported to the other end of the hall. Low-activity items were placed directly into a shielded container, potentially after being cut into smaller pieces. The more contaminated items were initially placed in a storage block within the hall's floor. They will later be transferred to a large, specially constructed and shielded saw capable of cutting them into smaller pieces prior to placement in containers.

See also the article ”An Extended Arm in the Water” from 2016.