[otrahuevada]

One thing I've always wondered is, who cleans this things? Is normal, run of the mill cleaning personnel expected to be careful enough to not accidentally toss something out alignment, or is there some kind of Nuclear Plant Grade Cleaning industry I never heard about?

[retzkek]

There are dedicated staff for cleaning, and they do an amazing job, not a speck of dust or grime anywhere people routinely go (for good reason). Where I worked they even had special titles: NPSA, nuclear plant service attendant.

[joshvm]

The only real difference is that there's also a decommissioning aspect. Typically any consumables that get used in a nuclear environment get collected, put in a barrel and then sent off to a warehouse for later disposal (generally unspecified...). A lot of "nuclear waste" is lightly contaminated PPE.