The spent pool is located above the reactor vessel. During refueling, they open the vessel and remove the spent bundle. This is all done underwater so the spent rods, which are highly radioactive, are never exposed to the atmosphere. Once adequately “cooled” they are transferred out of the pool into large casks and moved to a new location.
Here in the US those rods that are in the casks were to be transferred to Yucca Mountain for permanent storage but that contract has been broken by Obama and Harry Reid. Of course Harry didn’t have any problem with spending billions on Yucca until the time came to open it up for it’s intended use.
TIK: That is because it brought jobs and industry to the area, in preparation work.
shotgun :" Once adequately “cooled” they are transferred out of the pool into large casks and moved to a new location."
TIK: The problem is that with Yucca Mountain closed, there is no place to transport the spent rods to another location.
Many of those spent rods (fuel) are being warehoused elsewhere on the site of the nuclear plant until other storage arrangements can be made.
Those spent rods still need to remain secured and under guard (security expense).