Fuel pond
A pond for storing fuel irradiated inside the reactor was part of the construction of the DFR.
The hot fuel was removed from the reactor and stored underwater in the pond to allow it to cool. From there, it was transported to the reprocessing plants for chemical separation.
Initially, the concrete pond operated in the open-air before an enclosure was constructed.
The pond continued to be used for the storage of fast reactor and other fuel after closure of DFR in 1977 but now is being decommissioned.
The last fuel was removed from the pond in 2001. This allowed a decommissioning team to dismantle and remove the storage racks in the pond and begin cleaning up the water by running it through an ion exchange filter to extract radioactive contamination.
Demolition of the pond is scheduled for completion by 2012.
Building the DFR fuel pond
The fuel pond area
Fuel pond under construction
Removing equipment from the pond
