Catwalk to Storage Block at ANSTO HIFAR, this perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers.
Catwalk to Storage Block at ANSTO HIFAR, this perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers.

Catwalk to Storage Block

Provenance

Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

A steel catwalk stretches towards a concrete storage block within the decommissioned ANSTO HIFAR nuclear reactor facility. Industrial forms dominate the scene, reflecting decades of scientific endeavour.

Edition
Open edition

Open edition
Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

Limited edition
A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

$100.00 AUD
Size
Type
Colour
✓
Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 10 to 20 business days (framed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.
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In situ

Catwalk to Storage Block at ANSTO HIFAR, this perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers.Catwalk to Storage Block at ANSTO HIFAR, this perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers.Catwalk to Storage Block at ANSTO HIFAR, this perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers.Catwalk to Storage Block at ANSTO HIFAR, this perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers.Catwalk to Storage Block at ANSTO HIFAR, this perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers.
01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title
Catwalk to Storage Block
Series
ANSTO HIFAR
Catalogue
AHF-040
Process
Giclée
Paper
Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size
290 × 200 mm
Location
Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Recognised by
Highly Commended in Multimedia at the 2016 National Trust of Australia (NSW) Heritage Awards
03 THE STORY

About this print

A steel catwalk runs toward the No. 1 storage block inside the HIFAR reactor building. The walkway is grated steel, supported by structural beams and bolted to the surrounding structure at each landing. Handrails run along both sides at standing height. The storage block at the end of the catwalk is concrete, shielded, with the access port positioned to align with the polar crane above for fuel handling.

HIFAR operated on four-week program cycles, with fuel elements depleting through each cycle. When elements were spent, they were transferred to the water-cooled storage block to decay before removal from site. The reactor ran on a maximum core load of 25 fuel elements, with around 30 elements consumed per year of operation. After shutdown on 30 January 2007, all spent fuel was removed and reprocessed within 12 months.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

This perspective from the outer edge of ANSTO HIFAR’s containment building offers a commanding view over the fuel storage block, a critical area where spent fuel elements were temporarily housed before being transferred for long-term storage or reprocessing.

Brett Patman

ANSTO HIFAR

The series

ANSTO HIFAR

2022 · 49 photographs

At 11:15 pm on Sunday 26 January 1958, Australia Day, the High Flux Australian Reactor went critical for the first time with 11 of 25 fuel elements loaded. The men in the control room had come from Oak Ridge, Chalk River and Harwell. HIFAR was Australia's first nuclear reactor.

View all in this series →

05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.

Anatomy · true ratio
07 MORE FROM ANSTO HIFAR

48 other prints in this series

All prints
Helium Pumps at ANSTO HIFAR, this system played a vital role in reactor maintenance by passing helium across the surface.
Helium Pumps $100.00
Top Plate to Basement at ANSTO HIFAR, the reactor hall at HIFAR drops away from the overhead crane gantry down.
Top Plate to Basement $100.00
HIFAR Control Room at ANSTO HIFAR, this control desk at ANSTO HIFAR was manned 24 hours a day by accredited operators.
HIFAR Control Room $100.00
Cooling Circuit at ANSTO HIFAR, this intricate manifold of pipework, featuring valves, gauges, and rotometers, is part.
Cooling Circuit $100.00
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

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