Container for receiving radioactive waste

Abstract

The present invention relates to a container (1) for receiving radioactive waste, wherein the container (1), which is at least partly made of radioprotective material, comprises - a container body (2), the upper edge of which bounds an upper opening (225) of the container; and - a cover element (3). According to the invention, the cover element (3) comprises a closing plate (31) which is mounted so as to be movable in horizontal translation at the upper opening (225) of the container by means of two lateral slide structures (4). The closing plate (31) comprises a plate through-opening (317) and is provided with a movable closing flap (5) designed to assume: - a closed position in which it closes the plate through-opening (317); and - an open position in which it at least partially uncovers the plate through-opening (317).

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Title of the invention: Container intended for receiving radioactive waste

[0003] Technical field of the invention

[0004] The present invention relates to the technical field of containers made at least partially from radio-protective material, which are intended for the reception of radioactive waste, for example, but not exclusively, for the confinement and decay of contaminated and radioactive infectious risk healthcare waste, within the framework of certain nuclear medicine activities.

[0005] State of the art

[0006] 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.

[0007] These containers comprise a container body defining an internal storage volume, provided with a top opening and associated with a removable cover element.

[0008] Conventionally, the cover element is pivotally mounted on an upper edge of the container body about a horizontal axis; and it can be operated manually or by foot, by means of a control pedal.

[0009] However, due to the significant weight of the radio-protective materials, opening and closing the cover is not always easy to perform.

[0010] Furthermore, the degree of opening of the cover 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.

[0011] Presentation of the invention

[0012] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the state of the art, the present invention proposes a container made of radio-protective material intended for receiving radioactive waste, which container comprises:

[0013] - a container body made at least partly of radio-protective material, which container body comprises a bottom element extended by a belt of side walls, an upper edge of said belt of side walls delimiting an upper container opening, and - a cover element, made at least partly of radio-protective material, designed to occupy a closed position in which said cover element closes said upper container opening, and an open position in which said cover element at least partially releases said upper container opening, this container being characterized in that said cover element comprises a closure plate comprising an upper face and a lower face, which closure plate is mounted movable in horizontal translation at said upper container opening by means of two lateral slide structures,which shutter tray comprises a tray through opening, and is equipped with a movable shutter flap adapted to occupy a closed position in which said shutter flap closes said tray through opening, and an open position in which said shutter flap at least partially releases said tray through opening.,

[0014] Such a container structure makes it possible to limit the efforts required for opening and closing the lid, and makes it easy to manage the opening required 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.

[0015] Other non-limiting and advantageous characteristics of the container according to the invention, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations, are the following:

[0016] - the shutter can be arranged on the side of the upper face of the shutter plate and be mounted to pivot about a pivot axis, which pivot axis extends perpendicular to the plane of said shutter plate, to allow the opening and closing maneuvers of said shutter by pivoting in a plane parallel to that of said shutter plate;

[0017] - the shutter can be mounted cantilevered, parallel to and at a distance from said shutter plate, by means of a pivot shaft which materializes said pivot axis;

[0018] - the container may comprise a stop system comprising two stop structures for limiting the pivoting of the shutter in its two directions of movement; - the stop system may comprise a finger secured to one of the elements among the shutter plate and the shutter, which finger passes within a groove formed in the other of said elements among said shutter plate and said shutter, the ends of said groove forming said two stop structures; such a feature makes it possible to make the stop system invisible;

[0019] - the through opening of the tray may be of circular shape, the shutter may be of generally circular shape provided with a lateral extension at the level of which said pivot axis is arranged, and said shutter may comprise an operating handle consisting of a vertical rod at the free end of which a gripping sphere is arranged, which operating handle extends diametrically opposite to said lateral extension;

[0020] - the lateral slide structures may be provided, in part, on the outer sides of two parallel walls of the belt of side walls, and in another part, on opposite faces of two supports which extend downwards two parallel sides of the closure plate;

[0021] - the side slide structures may comprise: (a) stop structures for defining the open and closed positions of the shutter plate, and (b) braking means adapted to brake the movement of said shutter plate just before reaching said stop structures;

[0022] - the container may comprise two gripping handles, for sliding the closure plate, which gripping handles are provided on said two supports which extend downwards two parallel sides of the closure plate;

[0023] - the container body comprises a vertical container body axis, said container comprises a base structure provided with ground support rollers, and said base structure is offset from said vertical container body axis, this in a manner suitable for avoiding, or at least limiting, the possibilities of the container tipping in the open position of said closure plate.

[0024] Of course, the various features, variants and embodiments of the invention may be combined with each other in various combinations to the extent that they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive.

[0025] Detailed description of the invention

[0026] In addition, various other characteristics of the invention emerge from the appended description given with reference to the drawings which illustrate a non-limiting form of embodiment of the invention and where:

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a container for radioactive waste according to the invention, with its closure plate in the closed position and its closure flap in the open position;

[0028] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container illustrated in Figure 1, with the shutter in the closed position;

[0029] Figure 3 is a front view of the container shown in Figure 2;

[0030] Figure 4 is a sectional view along section plane 4-4 of Figure 3;

[0031] Figure 5 is an enlarged view of detail B of Figure 4;

[0032] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the radioactive waste container shown in Figures 1 to 5, with its shutter plate in the open position and its shutter flap in the closed position.

[0033] Container 1 illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 is intended for the reception of radioactive waste, for example for the storage, containment and decay of contaminated and radioactive infectious risk waste from healthcare activities in nuclear medicine.

[0034] This container 1 comprises a container body 2 associated with a cover element 3.

[0035] The container body 2 and the cover element 3 are made at least partly of radio-protective material in a manner suitable for stopping ionizing radiation likely to be emitted by the stored waste.

[0036] The container body 2 comprises a horizontal bottom element 21, extended by a belt of side walls 22 which together define a storage volume V, and a vertical axis of the container body A.

[0037] The side wall belt 22 comprises four vertical side walls 221, 222, 223 and 224, and its horizontal section is square or rectangular in shape. The two walls 221 and 224 are parallel to each other; and the two walls 222 and 223 are parallel to each other. The upper edges of the four side walls 221, 222, 223, 224 are located in the same horizontal plane and they delimit an upper container opening 225.

[0038] The cover element 3 is designed to occupy a closed position (figures 2, 3 and 4) in which it closes the upper container opening 225, and an open position (figures 1 and 6) in which it at least partially releases this upper container opening 225.

[0039] The cover element 3 comprises a closure plate 31 which is delimited by four sides 311, 312, 313 and 314, an upper face 315 and a lower face 316.

[0040] This cover element 3 is mounted to move in horizontal translation at the level of the upper container opening 225, by means of two lateral slide structures 4 which are arranged along two lateral sides of the closure plate 31 (in this case the sides 312 and 314) and along the upper edge of two parallel lateral walls of the belt of lateral walls 22 (in this case the lateral walls 222 and 223).

[0041] In addition, the shutter plate 31 comprises a through-opening of the plate 317 (here of circular 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-opening of the plate 317 (figures 2, 3, 4 and 6), and an open position in which the shutter flap 5 at least partially releases this through-opening of the plate 317 (figure 1).

[0042] For this, the shutter 5 is pivotally mounted, on the side of the upper face 315 of the shutter plate 31, around a pivot axis 6 which extends perpendicular to the plane of the shutter plate 31, to allow the opening and closing maneuvers of said shutter 5 by pivoting in a plane parallel to that of said shutter plate 31.

[0043] This shutter 5 is generally circular in shape and has a lateral extension 51 at which the pivot axis 6 is arranged. The movement of the shutter 5 is achieved by means of an operating handle 7 (or lever) consisting of a vertical rod 71 at the free end of which a gripping sphere 72 is arranged. This operating handle 7 extends diametrically opposite to the aforementioned lateral extension 51. The color of the gripping sphere 72 can be adapted according to the energy of the radioisotope(s) stored in the container 1. For example, it can be orange in color for radiation protection against high energies, and blue in color for radiation protection against low and medium energies.

[0044] 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 contamination with soiled gloves.

[0045] To facilitate its operation, the shutter 5 is mounted cantilevered, parallel to 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.

[0046] The pivot shaft 8 is integral with the closure plate 31 and it extends upwards, from the upper face 315 of said closure plate 31 and perpendicular to the latter.

[0047] As can be seen in Figure 5, the free end of the pivot shaft 8 comprises a threaded portion 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 desired spacing.

[0048] The pivot shaft 8 can be secured to a support plate fixed by means of screws on the closure plate 31.

[0049] The container 1 also comprises a system of stops 12, comprising two stop structures, to limit the pivoting of the shutter 5 in its two directions of movement.

[0050] In a particularly interesting manner, this system of stops 12, visible in FIG. 5, comprises a finger 121 here secured to the closure plate 31, which passes within a groove 122 in the shape of an arc of a circle arranged opposite in the closure shutter 5, the ends of this groove 122 in the shape of an arc of a circle forming the two aforementioned stop structures, one to define the closed position of the closure shutter 5, and the other to define its maximum open position.

[0051] The desired pivot angle is managed by the positioning and length of the groove 122. More precisely, the finger 121 extends upwards from the upper face 315 of the shutter plate 31, and it enters the groove 122 formed opposite in a lower face of the shutter flap 5.

[0052] It is understood that the pivoting of the shutter 5 is possible as long as the finger 121 does not come into contact with one of the ends of the groove 122.

[0053] Such a structure of the stop system 12 makes it possible to make it fully integrated and invisible from the outside.

[0054] In an alternative embodiment, the groove of the stop system 12 can be provided in the upper face of the closure plate 31, the associated finger then being provided to project from the lower face of the closure flap 5.

[0055] The bottom element 21 of the container body 2, the side wall belt 22 and the closure plate 31 may be made of a multi-layer complex formed:

[0056] - at least one protective layer of radio-protective material (for example one or more layers of lead, or another radio-protective material, or a plurality of layers of different radio-protective materials),

[0057] - at least one support layer for said protective layer(s) (for example a plywood or chipboard panel),

[0058] - interior and exterior coating layers (e.g. plastic, resin or metal).

[0059] The total thickness of the layer(s) of radio-protective material is adapted according to the desired radio-protection characteristics. This total thickness of the layer(s) of radio-protective material can be between 10 and 20 mm for a material such as lead.

[0060] The wall which delimits the circular opening 317 of the closure plate 31 is preferably covered by an attached covering ferrule (for example made of plastic, resin or metal).

[0061] For its part, the shutter 5 may 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).

[0062] The lateral slide structures 4 are each provided, for a part 41, on an outer 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 closure plate 31.

[0063] The two parts 41 and 42 of each slide structure 4 are complementary.

[0064] 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.

[0065] Two gripping handles 32 are provided to facilitate the translational maneuvering of the shutter plate 31.

[0066] These gripping handles 32 are provided on the two supports 43, here at one of the ends of these two supports 43.

[0067] More precisely, the handles 32 project from the external faces of the two supports 43, that is to say from their faces which are opposite those which receive the parts 42 of the slide structures 4.

[0068] The two handles 32 can be operated manually or using the knee when the size of the waste requires it.

[0069] The slide structures 4 comprise 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.

[0070] 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 one of the plates in question to a greater or lesser extent, in order to obtain the desired braking characteristics.

[0071] The container 1 comprises a streamlined base structure 13, fitted with ground support rollers 14, two of which 141 are fixed and two others 142 are pivoting.

[0072] As can be seen in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 6, the base structure 13 is off-center (or offset) relative to the vertical axis of the container body A, in a manner suitable for avoiding, or at least limiting, the possibilities of the container 1 tipping over in the open position of its closure plate 31. The off-centering or offset in question is carried out on the side located in the direction of opening of the closure plate 31.

[0073] A locking system may be provided to prevent the shutter plate 31 from being opened. For example, a padlock locking system (not shown) may be provided which hooks onto:

[0074] - on an orifice 15 of a first locking plate 16 secured to the closure plate 31, and

[0075] - on an orifice of a second locking plate (not visible) secured to the container body 2. In addition, a bag fixing frame may be provided to ensure that a waste receiving bag is properly held in the storage volume V of the container body 2.

[0076] It is understood that the container 1 for radioactive waste in accordance with the invention can be opened without effort due to the sliding nature of its cover element 3.

[0077] Such a sliding cover element 3 further allows for a reduction in exposure for operators due to the presence of the shutter and its ability to open partially.

Claims

Claims

1. Container (1) intended for receiving radioactive waste, which container (1) comprises: - a container body (2) made at least partly of radio-protective material, which container body (2) comprises a bottom element (21) extended by a belt of side walls (22), an upper edge of said belt of side walls (22) delimiting an upper container opening (225), and - a cover element (3), made at least partly of radio-protective 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 releases said upper container opening (225), characterized in that said cover element (3) comprises a closure plate (31) comprising an upper face (315) and a lower face (316), which closure plate (31) is mounted movable in horizontal translation at said upper container opening (225) by means of two lateral slide structures (4), which closure plate (31) comprises a through-opening of the plate (317), and is equipped with a movable closure flap (5),designed to occupy a closed position in which said shutter flap (5) closes said tray through opening (317), and an open position in which said shutter flap (5) at least partially releases said tray through opening (317).,

2. Container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said shutter flap (5) is arranged on the side of the upper face (315) of said shutter plate (31) and is pivotally mounted around a pivot axis (6), which pivot axis (6) extends perpendicular to the plane of said 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).

3. Container (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said shutter (5) is mounted in a cantilevered manner, parallel to and at a distance from said tray. closure (31), by means of a pivot shaft (8) which materializes said pivot axis (6).

4. Container (1) according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that it comprises a system of stops (12) comprising two stop structures for limiting the pivoting of said shutter (5) in its two directions of movement.

5. Container (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that said stop system (12) comprises a finger (121) integral with one of the elements among the closure plate (31) and the closure flap (5), which finger (121) passes within a groove (122) formed in the other of said elements among said closure plate (31) and said closure flap (5), the ends of said groove (122) forming said two stop structures. [Claim s] Container (1) according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that said through-opening of the tray (317) is of circular shape, in that said shutter (5) is of generally circular shape provided with a lateral extension (51) at the level of which said pivot axis (6) is arranged, and in that said shutter (5) comprises an operating handle (7) consisting of a vertical rod (71) at the free end of which a gripping sphere (72) is arranged, which operating handle (7) extends diametrically opposite to said lateral extension (51).

7. Container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said lateral slide structures (4) are arranged, in part (41), on the outer sides of two parallel walls (222, 223) of the belt of side walls (22), and for another part (42), on opposite faces of two supports (43) which extend downwards two parallel sides (312, 314) of said closure plate (31). [Claim s] Container (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that said lateral slide structures (4) comprise: - stop structures for defining the open and closed positions of said shutter plate (31), and - braking means adapted to brake the movement of said shutter plate (31) just before reaching said stop structures.

9. Container (1) according to any one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that it comprises two gripping handles (32) for sliding the said closure plate (31), which gripping handles (32) are provided on the said two supports (43) which extend downwards two parallel sides (312, 314) of the said closure plate. (31).

10. Container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that said container body (2) comprises a vertical container body axis (A), in that said container (1) comprises a base structure (13) provided with ground support rollers (14), and in that said base structure (13) is off-center relative to said vertical container body axis (A), in a manner suitable for avoiding, or at least limiting, the possibilities of said container (1) tipping in the open position of said closure plate (31).

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