Cleaning and dismantling of the hot cell in the NPP Rheinsberg

The NPP Rheinsberg is actually being dismantled. The hot cell was used for the processing of special fuel elements for disposal. The hot cell is an integrated component in the reactor building. In the frame of the hot cell dismantling it was necessary to clean up the hot cell of high-contaminated waste from 35 years of operation. The authors describes the complicated dismantling procedure with remote handling equipment including the failure of the central welding seam of the strainer causing free fall of the activated materials to the bottom of the chamber.