Abstract: The invention is directed to an apparatus for withdrawing a sample from a ass melting furnace. The apparatus includes a gripper for taking the sample and can be introduced through an opening in the furnace into the interior thereof. The apparatus includes a rectangular vertically upright open guide frame provided with vertical inner guides mounted on the sides of the frame. A carrier frame is mounted on the inner guides and is displaceable relative to the guide frame. The base of the guide frame is penetrated by a guide tube. A pull rod is coaxially and displaceably mounted in the guide tube and is fixedly attached to the base of the carrier frame. Two pairs of articulated lever units for pivoting two cooperating gripper half shells are mounted at the end of the guide tube and at the end of the pull rod. When pivoted together, the gripper half shells conjointly form a closed space to accommodate the sample.

Abstract: The invention is directed to an arrangement for vitrifying highly radioace waste solutions. The arrangement has a glass melting furnace and a wet scrubber for scrubbing particles of dust out of the offgas from the glass melting furnace. The offgas is passed from the glass melting furnace into the wet scrubber through an offgas conduit. The solids in the offgas are deposited in the offgas conduit. In order to counteract the disadvantageous consequences of such deposits, the offgas conduit includes two conduit lengths. The glass melting furnace is connected to one end of a first one of the conduit lengths via a connecting conduit stub mounted on the melting furnace and the wet scrubber is connected to one end of the second conduit length via a connecting conduit stub on the scrubbers. The two conduit lengths extend upwardly and are inclined toward each other so that they interconnect at their respective other ends.