CONTAINER FOR THE COLLECTION OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Description

Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of containers made at least partially of radio-protective material, which are intended for the reception of radioactive waste, for example, but not exclusively, for the containment and decay of contaminated and radioactive infectious healthcare waste, within the framework of certain nuclear medicine activities. State of the art

[0002] There are containers made at least partly of radio-protective material (lead, tungsten or other), intended to receive radioactive waste from, for example, nuclear medicine activities.

[0003] These containers include a container body defining an internal storage volume, equipped with a top opening and associated with a removable lid element.

[0004] In a conventional manner, the lid element is pivotally mounted on an upper edge of the container body around a horizontal axis; and it can be operated manually or by foot, using a control pedal.

[0005] However, due to the significant weight of the radioprotective materials, opening and closing the lid is not always easy to perform.

[0006] Furthermore, the degree of opening of the lid is not easy to manage, particularly depending on the dimensions (or volume) of the waste present, which can be a source of overexposure to ionizing radiation.

[0007] Document FR 2 696 721 A1 discloses a container intended for the reception of radioactive waste, including a lid with a hole and a swiveling plug to close this hole. Presentation of the invention

[0008] To overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention proposes a container made of radiation-protective material for receiving radioactive waste, which container comprises: a container body made at least partly of radio-protective material, which container body comprises a base element extended by a belt of side walls, an upper edge of said belt of side walls delimiting a top container opening, and a lid element, made at least partly of radio-protective material, designed to occupy a closed position in which said lid element closes said top container opening, and an open position in which said lid element at least partially releases said top container opening, this container being characterized by the fact that said lid element includes a sealing plate comprising an upper face and a lower face, which sealing plate is mounted movable in horizontal translation at the level of said upper container opening by means of two lateral slide structures, which sealing plate includes a through-plate opening, and is equipped with a movable shutter flap designed to occupy a closed position in which said shutter flap closes said through-plate opening, and an open position in which said shutter flap at least partially releases said through-plate opening.

[0009] Such a container structure makes it possible to limit the effort required for opening and closing the lid, and to easily manage the opening needed to adapt to the size of the waste to be stored, while reducing the irradiation cone to which it is exposed to the bare minimum.

[0010] Other non-limiting and advantageous features of the container according to the invention, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations, are as follows: The shutter flap may be provided on the upper face of the shutter plate and mounted to pivot about a pivot axis, which pivot axis extends perpendicularly to the plane of said shutter plate, to allow opening and closing maneuvers of said shutter flap by pivoting in a plane parallel to that of said shutter plate; the shutter flap may be cantilevered, parallel and at a distance from said shutter plate, by means of a pivot shaft which materializes said pivot axis; the container may include a stop system comprising two stop structures to limit the pivoting of the shutter flap in its two directions of movement;The stop system may include a finger attached to one of the elements of the shutter plate and the shutter flap, which finger passes within a groove formed in the other of said elements of said shutter plate and said shutter flap, the ends of said groove forming said two stop structures; such a feature makes the stop system invisible; the through opening of the plate may be circular in shape, the shutter flap may be generally circular in shape with a lateral extension at the level of which said pivot axis is provided, and said shutter flap may include an operating handle consisting of a vertical rod at the free end of which is provided a gripping sphere, which operating handle extends diametrically opposite to said lateral extension;The side slide structures may be provided, in part, on the outer sides of two parallel walls of the side wall belt, and in part, on opposite faces of two supports which extend downwards from two parallel sides of the sealing plate; the side slide structures may include: (a) stop structures for defining the open and closed positions of the sealing plate, and (b) suitable braking means for braking the movement of said sealing plate just before reaching said stop structures; the container may include two gripping handles for sliding the sealing plate, which gripping handles are provided on said two supports which extend downwards from two parallel sides of the sealing plate;The container body comprises a vertical axis of the container body; said container comprises a base structure equipped with casters for ground support; and said base structure is offset from said vertical axis of the container body in a manner adapted to avoid, or at least limit, the possibility of the container tipping in the open position of said sealing plate.

[0011] Of course, the different features, variants and embodiments of the invention can be combined with each other in various ways as long as they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive. Detailed description of the invention

[0012] Furthermore, various other features of the invention become apparent from the attached description made with reference to the drawings which illustrate one, non-limiting, embodiment of the invention and where: There figure 1is a schematic perspective view of a radioactive waste container according to the invention, with its sealing plate in the closed position and its sealing flap in the open position; The figure 2 is a perspective view of the container illustrated on the figure 1 with the shutter in the closed position; The figure 3 is a front view of the container shown on the figure 2 ; There figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along the 4-4 section plane of the figure 3 ; There figure 5 is an enlarged view of detail B of the figure 4 ; There figure 6 is a perspective view of the radioactive waste container illustrated on the figures 1 to 5 , with its shutter plate in the open position and its shutter flap in the closed position.

[0013] Container 1 shown on the figures 1 to 6is intended for the reception of radioactive waste, for example for the storage, containment and decay of contaminated and radioactive infectious healthcare waste in nuclear medicine.

[0014] This container 1 comprises a container body 2 associated with a lid element 3.

[0015] The container body 2 and the lid element 3 are made at least partly of radio-protective material in a manner suitable for stopping ionizing radiation that may be emitted by the stored waste.

[0016] The container body 2 comprises a horizontal base element 21, extended by a belt of side walls 22 which together define a storage volume V, and a vertical axis of container body A.

[0017] The side wall belt 22 comprises four vertical side walls 221, 222, 223, and 224, and its horizontal section is square or rectangular. The two walls 221 and 224 are parallel to each other; and the two walls 222 and 223 are parallel to each other.

[0018] The upper edges of the four side walls 221, 222, 223, 224 are located in the same horizontal plane and they delimit an upper opening of container 225.

[0019] The lid element 3 is designed to occupy a closed position ( figures 2 , 3 and 4 ) in which it closes the upper opening of container 225, and an open position ( Figures 1 And 6 ) in which it at least partially frees up this upper container opening 225.

[0020] The cover element 3 includes a sealing plate 31 which is delimited by four sides 311, 312, 313 and 314, a top face 315 and a bottom face 316.

[0021] This lid element 3 is mounted movable in horizontal translation at the level of the upper opening of container 225, by means of two lateral slide structures 4 which are provided along two lateral sides of the sealing plate 31 (in this case sides 312 and 314) and along the upper edge of two parallel lateral walls of the side wall belt 22 (in this case side walls 222 and 223).

[0022] Furthermore, the shutter plate 31 includes a through-hole of plate 317 (here circular in shape); and it is equipped with a movable shutter flap 5, designed to occupy a closed position in which this shutter flap 5 closes the through-hole of plate 317 ( figures 2 , 3 ,4 And 6 ), and an open position in which the shutter flap 5 at least partially releases this through-hole of plate 317 ( figure 1 ).

[0023] For this purpose, the shutter flap 5 is pivotally mounted on the upper face 315 side of the shutter plate 31, around a pivot axis 6 which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the shutter plate 31, to allow the opening and closing maneuvers of said shutter flap 5 by pivoting in a plane parallel to that of said shutter plate 31.

[0024] This shutter flap 5 is generally circular in shape and has a lateral extension 51 at the level of which the pivot axis 6 is provided. The movement of the shutter flap 5 is achieved by means of an operating handle 7 (or lever) consisting of a vertical rod 71 at the free end of which is provided a gripping sphere 72. This operating handle 7 extends diametrically opposite to the aforementioned lateral extension 51.

[0025] The color of the grip sphere 72 can be adapted according to the energy of the radioisotope(s) stored in container 1. For example, it can be orange for radiation protection against high energies, and blue for radiation protection against low and medium energies.

[0026] This operating handle 7 allows the pivoting shutter 5 to be opened not only with one hand, but also with the elbow, for example to avoid its contamination with soiled gloves.

[0027] To facilitate its operation, the shutter flap 5 is mounted in cantilever, parallel and at a distance from the upper face 315 of the shutter plate 31, by means of a pivot shaft 8 which materializes the pivot axis 6.

[0028] The pivot shaft 8 is integral with the shutter plate 31 and extends upwards from the upper face 315 of said shutter plate 31 and perpendicularly to the latter.

[0029] As can be seen on the figure 5, the free end of the pivot shaft 8 includes a threaded part 9 for receiving a locking nut 10; and a spacer washer 11 is mounted on the pivot shaft 8, interposed between the upper face 315 of the shutter plate 31 and the shutter flap 5, to obtain the required spacing.

[0030] The pivot shaft 8 can be fixed to a support plate attached by means of screws to the shutter plate 31.

[0031] Container 1 also includes a stop system 12, comprising two stop structures, to limit the pivoting of the shutter flap 5 in its two directions of movement.

[0032] Of particular interest, this system of stops 12, visible on the figure 5, includes a finger 121 here integral with the shutter plate 31, which passes within a circular arc groove 122 formed opposite it in the shutter flap 5, the ends of this circular arc groove 122 forming the two aforementioned stop structures, one to define the closed position of the shutter flap 5, and the other to define its maximum open position.

[0033] The desired pivot angle is controlled by the positioning and length of groove 122.

[0034] More specifically, the finger 121 extends upwards from the upper face 315 of the shutter plate 31, and it enters the groove 122 provided opposite in a lower face of the shutter flap 5.

[0035] It is understood that the pivoting of the shutter flap 5 is possible as long as the finger 121 does not come into contact with one of the ends of the groove 122.

[0036] Such a structure of the stop system 12 makes it totally integrated and invisible from the outside.

[0037] In one embodiment, the groove for the stop system 12 can be provided in the upper face of the shutter plate 31, the associated finger then being provided projecting from the lower face of the shutter flap 5.

[0038] The base element 21 of the container body 2, the side wall belt 22 and the sealing plate 31 can be made of a multilayer complex formed: of at least one protective layer of radio-protective material (for example one or more layers of lead, or of another radio-protective material, or a plurality of layers of different radio-protective materials), of at least one support layer for said protective layer(s) (for example a plywood or chipboard panel), of inner and outer coating layers (for example of plastic, resin or metal).

[0039] The total thickness of the layer(s) of radiation-shielding material is adapted according to the required radiation protection characteristics. This total thickness of the layer(s) of radiation-shielding material can be between 10 and 20 mm for a material such as lead.

[0040] The wall which delimits the circular opening 317 of the obturator plate 31 is preferably covered by an added covering ferrule (for example made of plastic, resin or metal).

[0041] For its part, the shutter flap 5 can consist of a layer of radio-protective material (for example a layer of lead), covered by a coating material (for example plastic, resin or metal).

[0042] The lateral slide structures 4 are each provided, for a part 41, on an outside side of the upper edge of a side wall 222, 223, and for another part 42, on a face of a support 43 which extends downwards a side 312, 314 of the shutter plate 31.

[0043] The two parts 41 and 42 of each slide structure 4 are complementary.

[0044] The two parts 41 of the two slide structures 4 are oriented opposite each other on the container body 2; and the two parts 42 of the two slide structures 4 are oriented opposite each other on the opposite faces of the two supports 43.

[0045] Two handles 32 are provided for easy handling when moving the shutter plate 31.

[0046] These grip handles 32 are provided on the two supports 43, here at one of the ends of these two supports 43.

[0047] More specifically, the handles 32 extend outward from the external faces of the two supports 43, that is to say from their faces which are opposite to those which receive the parts 42 of the slide structures 4.

[0048] The two handles 32 can be operated manually or with the knee when the bulk of the waste requires it.

[0049] The slide structures 4 include stop structures (not visible) which define the open and closed positions of the shutter plate 31, as well as braking means (also not visible) adapted to brake the movement of the shutter plate 31 just before reaching the aforementioned stop systems.

[0050] The braking means in question may, for example, consist of profiles or plates of the two parts 41, 42 of the two slide structures 4, which cooperate by friction. Adjustment screws may be provided to deform one of the profiles or plates in question to a greater or lesser extent, in order to obtain the desired braking characteristics.

[0051] Container 1 includes a streamlined base structure 13, equipped with ground support casters 14, of which two 141 are fixed and two others 142 are swivel casters.

[0052] As can be seen on the figures 1, 2 , 4 And 6 , the base structure 13 is off-center (or offset) with respect to the vertical axis of container body A, in a way adapted to avoid, or at least limit, the possibilities of tipping container 1 into the open position of its sealing plate 31.

[0053] The decentering or offset in question is carried out on the side located in the direction of the opening of the shutter plate 31.

[0054] A locking system can be provided to prevent the opening of the shutter plate 31. For example, a padlock locking system (not shown) can be provided, attaching to: on an orifice 15 of a first locking plate 16 attached to the sealing plate 31, and on an orifice of a second locking plate (not visible) attached to the container body 2.

[0055] In addition, a bag fixing frame can be provided to ensure that a waste collection bag is properly held in the storage volume V of the container body 2.

[0056] It is understood that the container 1 for radioactive waste according to the invention can be opened effortlessly due to the sliding nature of its lid element 3.

[0057] Such a sliding cover element 3 allows for a further reduction in exposure for operators due to the presence of the shutter flap and its ability to open partially.

Claims

1. A container (1) for receiving radioactive waste, wherein said container (1) comprises: - a container body (2) at least partly made of a radioprotective material, said container body (2) comprising a bottom element (21) extended by a peripheral wall (22), an upper edge of said peripheral wall (22) delimiting an upper container opening (225), and - a cover element (3), at least partly made of a radioprotective material, designed to occupy a closed position in which said cover element (3) closes said upper container opening (225), and an open position in which said cover element (3) at least partially uncovers said upper container opening (225), characterized in that said cover element (3) comprises a closing plate (31) comprising an upper face (315) and a lower face (316), said closing plate (31) being mounted for horizontal translational movement at said upper container opening (225) through two lateral slide structures (4), and wherein said closing plate (31) comprises a plate through-opening (317), and is provided with a movable closing flap (5), designed to occupy a closed position in which said closing flap (5) closes said plate through-opening (317), and an open position in which said closing flap (5) at least partially uncovers said plate through-opening (317).

2. The container (1) according to claim 1, wherein said closing flap (5) is arranged on the side of the upper face (315) of said closing plate (31) and is pivotally mounted about a pivot axis (6), said pivot axis (6) extending perpendicular to the plane of said closing plate (31), to allow said closing flap (5) to be opened and closed by pivoting in a plane parallel to that of said closing plate (31).

3. The container (1) according to claim 2, wherein said closing flap (5) is cantilevered, parallel to and at a distance from said closing plate (31), by means of a pivot shaft (8) which represents said pivot axis (6).

4. The container (1) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein it includes a stop system (12) comprising two stop structures to limit the pivoting of said closing flap (5) in both directions of movement.

5. The container (1) according to claim 4, wherein said stop system (12) includes a finger (121) integral with one of the closing plate (31) and the closing flap (5), said finger (121) travelling within a groove (122) provided in the other of said closing plate (31) and said closing flap (5), the ends of said groove (122) forming said two stop structures.

6. The container (1) according to any of claims 2 to 5, wherein said plate through-opening (317) is of circular shape, wherein said closing flap (5) is of generally circular shape, with a lateral extension (51) at which said pivot axis (6) is formed, and wherein said closing flap (5) comprises an operating handle (7) consisting of a vertical rod (71) at the free end of which is formed a grip sphere (72), said operating handle (7) extending diametrically opposite with respect to said lateral extension (51).

7. The container (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 6, wherein said lateral slide structures (4) are formed, for a part (41), on the outer sides of two parallel walls (222, 223) of the peripheral wall (22), and for another part (42), on facing surfaces of two supports (43) that extend downwards two parallel sides (312, 314) of said closing plate (31).

8. The container (1) according to claim 7, wherein said lateral slide structures (4) comprise: - stop structures to define the open and closed positions of said closing plate (31), and - braking means designed to brake the motion of said closing plate (31) just before it reaches said stop structures.

9. The container (1) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein it comprises two grip handles (32), for sliding said closing plate (31), said grip handles (32) being arranged on said two supports (43) that extend downwards two parallel sides (312, 314) of said closing plate (31).

10. The container (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 9, wherein said container body (2) comprises a container body vertical axis (A), wherein said container (1) comprises a base structure (13) with castors (14) for supporting the container on the ground, and wherein said base structure (13) is offset with respect to the container body vertical axis (A), in a way that avoids, or at least limits, the possibility of said container (1) tipping over when said closing plate (31) is in the open position.