Reactor Hall of Unit 2, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant 2

The RBMK is notable for its circular reactor lid where the control rod drive mechanisms reside and where loading and unloading of fuel occurs by means of a massive crane-mounted machine. In essence, the hall is a heavy-walled hot cell designed to shield potentially high radiation levels while fuel operations are underway. The hall also contains the short-term spent fuel storage basins, fresh fuel storage, a fuel transfer hatch to ground level, and access panels into the upper steamwater communication lines linking the reactor channels to the steam separators on either side. Unit 2 at Chernobyl has been shut down since a fire in 1991 damaged its generators and feedwater system. The reactor is defueled and dry, as are its spent fuel basins. Reactor Hall of Unit 2, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant 2

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