RADIATION MONITORING & ALARA |
Norway and Russia Norway is also deploying radiation drones along its coast. Five Coast Guard ships will carry drones with sensors capable of detecting radioactivity in case of a maritime accident involving a potential release from a reactor- powered vessel. The cooperation agreement between the Norwegian
Coastal Administration and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority includes reporting and monitoring in the event of incidents that involve a risk of contamination. Radiation is a concern in the Arctic because the region
served as a dumping ground for radioactive materials, was a testing site for nuclear weapons during the Cold War and houses actual and potential sources of contamination, the Arctic Council points out. Arctic pollution levels are regularly assessed through monitoring by the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme. Russia is also developing drones for radiation
monitoring. In July 2021 Roskhimzashchita (part of Russia’s state corporation Rostec) presented the Shmel (Bumblebee) universal air gas analyser intended for installation on UAVs. The online device can detect substances in the air, measure background radiation and transmit the data to the online system. The gas analyser has eight chemical sensors to
Above: Flyability developed its Elios 2 RAD indoor drone equipped with a radiation sensor for use at nuclear plants Photo credit: Flyability
V The University of Bristol in the UK is meanwhile testing the use of UAV-Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). The university is undertaking several robotics projects in
close partnership with local Ukrainian institutes to address the need for radiation mapping in the CEZ. Professor Tom Scott, project leader, said: “This unique
environment also allows us the opportunity to test novel fixed-wing unmanned aircraft systems equipped with radiation mapping capability to demonstrate that, in the event of a nuclear incident, it could be possible to use a UAS instead of manned aircraft to provide real-time situational data about the spread and intensity of the radiation.” Dr Kieran Wood, project aerial-robotics specialist, said one of the research targets is to develop a more accurate method to map the radiation pattern in an area. “Part of this process requires a high-accuracy 3D model of the physical structure and terrain, and Lidar is an ideal choice for 3D mapping in complex terrain. Since most of the radioactive material is contained in the ground, we also needed to have a bare-earth model only, and post- processing the Lidar can provide this with high accuracy.” Besides mapping with the gamma and Lidar sensors, the
UAVs are equipped with cameras which enabled the team to collect photogrammetric image sets in parallel The primary measurement is gamma radiation intensity.
Wood explained: “By fitting a gamma detector onto a UAV and flying above the terrain, variations in the measured gamma intensity can be mapped, then post-processing enables interpolation of the measurements into a complete map. The localisation then became relatively simple, since the hotspots were clearly indicated by very localised peaks in the measured radiation intensity.” “The measurements are all geotagged with GNSS
receivers, hence the visual interpretation of the gamma map can tell us the longitude and latitude of the radiation hotspots,” Wood added.
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determine the concentration of pollutants, as well as to measure background radiation. The device provides automatic transmission of parameters and concentrations of hazardous chemical hazardous substances using permanent radio communication and binding to the GPS/Glonass system. The production will be deployed at Roskhimzashchita’s St Petersburg enterprise GosNIIkhimanalit. Serial production will begin in 2022. Production is planned at the level of 500 items a year. If there is an increased demand, the enterprise can increase its capacity to more than 1000 devices a year. The system weighs less than 0.5kg and because it is
small 18x12x6cm it can be installed on most drones. Its configuration can be changed in accordance with customer requirements by increasing the size of the gas analyser and installing more sensors to determine the concentration of pollutants.
Drones in the USA In the USA, drone companies have partnered with radiation instrument manufacturers to develop robust systems capable of carrying the necessary payloads. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and power utility Exelon have demonstrated the use of an autonomous drone to map radiation levels and inspect equipment at Peach Bottom 1 (inoperable since 1974), and its low-level waste storage facility. RADeCO provided the radiation detection instruments for the demonstration, and Exyn Technologies the autonomous drone navigation system. Exyn said its multi-sensor data fusion autonomy
engine, enables drones to navigate and adapt to complex, dangerous environments in real-time without GPS or a human pilot. Custom sensor integrations are available to overlay readings, such as radiation, gas monitor, IR, heat maps, chemical detection, and more. The team made software and hardware changes to
connect the radiation detectors with the drone and navigation system. The drone created high-resolution 3D
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