Nuclear power plant fuel building

This is a facility where both new and irradiated fuel assemblies (fuel that has completed its operating cycle in the reactor) are stored.

The fuel already used (also irradiated or spent) is deposited in pools submerged in water from which it will only be extracted for storage in casks in Individualised Temporary Storage (ITS) or for final management.

The building is usually connected to the containment building to allow radioactive materials to pass from one to the other without leaving the controlled area, although in some designs the spent fuel remains in the containment building at all times.

Since highly radioactive materials are deposited in this building, the standards of protection and safety are similar to those of the containment building.