Defuelling of the UTR-300 research reactor

A description is given of the movement of fuel elements from the core of the UTR-300 research reactor to the UNIFETCH flask, which is normally loaded under water, through a specially designed shielding arrangement which permits a dry transfer. The regulatory requirements and the safety case are summarised along with the predicted and measured doses to operators. The task was successfully completed to a tight time schedule with recorded doses which were well within the allocated dose budget.