Safe transportation and handling processes
From the safety perspective, protecting people and the environment against the effects of radiation during the transport and handling of components in nuclear plants as well as the handling, storage and disposal of fuel elements and other radioactive substances have a high priority. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent safety components and systems with radio-nuclide inventories from being compromised in their safety function and integrity during transportation and handling.
Specific requirements apply to the design, installation and function of transport and handling equipment depending on the effects of a potential failure during their use.
TÜV NORD Nuclear assesses handling processes and the associated technical equipment from the planning stage onwards and verifies the due consideration of the safety requirements on design, construction, commissioning, and operation. Furthermore TÜV NORD Nuclear assesses handling and dismantling facilities for disassembling of plant components in the course of deconstruction of nuclear facilities. This includes the underwater remote-controlled disassembly of core components.
Transport and handling equipment must be designed in such a way that a failure with a resulting malfunction of the safety systems or an unacceptable release of radioactive substances is avoided.
Our services
- Safety assessment of transport concepts and transport processes and the required technical Equipment
- Design reviews of the transportation and handling Equipment
- Lifting equipment (crane, hoists and other load-carrying equipment)
- Industrial trucks, e.g. fork lifts
- Storage facilities for fuel elements and other radioactive substances (e.g. for transport and storage containers for spent fuel and high-level waste)
- during fuel assembly production
- at NPP (e.g. wet storage in the fuel pool)
- during interim storage
- Storage facilities for non-heat developing and radioactive substances and waste
- Mechanical components and systems such as
- Handling and dismantling equipment for decommissioning of nuclear facilities
- Remote handling equipment and Manipulators
- Conditioning and packaging Equipment
- Inspection of practical implementation of constructional, functional and safety requirements on the basis of detailed design documents during construction and commissioning
- Assessment of operating procedures
- Assessment of technical modifications and maintenance measures
- Witnessing of recurrent in-service inspections (ISI) of the transport and handling Equipment
- Assessment of incidents and reportable Events
- Assessment of monitoring equipment for transport and storage Containers
- Assessment of the suitability of containers with regard to transport and storage of radioactive substances, particularly with regard to the longer-term interim storage of radioactive waste (type tests).