| RADIATION MONITORING & ALARA
Monitoring drone developments
Drones are becoming commonplace and are increasingly being used for radiation monitoring. Judith Perera reviews some recent projects and developments
COMPANIES WORLDWIDE ARE DESIGNING AND promoting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned aerial (or aircraft) systems (UAS). They have multiple uses from defence and weapon delivery to surveillance and aerial photography — and for personal use they can even be purchased online. Increasingly they are now being developed to help with radiation monitoring — especially since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi
Judith Perera
Contributing Editor, Nuclear Engineering International
nuclear power station, in 2012 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Fukushima Prefecture agreed to cooperate on radiation monitoring and remediation. The
cooperation covered assistance in research and study on: ● Radiation monitoring, including the application of environmental mapping technology using UAVs, and using radiation monitoring data to develop maps to be made available to the public;
● Off-site decontamination, including analyses of environmental monitoring results and exploration of exposure pathways to reduce or avoid exposure;
● Managing radioactive waste including management methods for low-level radioactive waste from off-site decontamination activities.
A project on the application of environmental mapping technology and the use of radiation monitoring data to develop maps has since been completed and reports have been prepared by the IAEA and the Prefecture. The IAEA mid-term summary report (2013-2020) covered a wide range of activities, including “Application of Environmental Mapping Technology Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” to monitor areas that were inaccessible on foot or where high radiation levels were suspected. The IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and
Applications helped the Prefecture develop a methodology for using instrumented UAVs in two projects. This included providing a complete UAV-based instrumentation system capable of making radiation measurements, with the post- measurement analysis and interpretation methodology, as well as training Prefecture staff in the use of the UAV, U
Above: Skeyetech autonomous drone has been deployed on the Orano La Hague site since early last year Photo: ©Azur Drones
www.neimagazine.com | March 2022 | 33
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