COVER STORY | REMOTE DECOMMISSIONING


Remote and digital technologies for decommissioning


Robots have a lot to offer the nuclear business, particularly when it comes to decommissioning and decontamination. A host of new developments not only shows the promise of robotics but also a route to recruiting a new generation of engineers for the nuclear business


DECOMMISSIONING IS A GROWTH AREA with a significant number of the world’s 439 nuclear power reactors approaching retirement age. Globally, 199 power reactors have been shut down, but only 21 are fully decommissioned. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projects that 12-25% of the 2020 nuclear electrical generating capacity is expected to be retired by 2030. While existing methods of decommissioning are more


or less sufficient to the task, innovations are developing faster, safer, and more cost-effective ways of working. Digital technologies coupled with robots and drones provide for significant potential to work more effectively, and at lower risk to operators.


The IAEA decommissioning survey In February, an IAEA survey on nuclear decommissioning found that in a growing number of countries immediate dismantling of retired nuclear facilities is preferred. “Previously, many programmes elected to defer dismantlement of retired facilities, but immediate dismantling is now becoming the predominant decommissioning strategy worldwide,” explained Olena Mykolaichuk, Head of the IAEA’s Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation Section.


This requirement is an added driver for the use of remote


and robotic technologies given the increased activity levels found in recently operating plants compared with those that have remained in shut-down state for decades. Emerging technologies coupled with increasing use of


robots and drones could potentially provide more effective project implementation and risk reduction. “The use of robotic techniques and remotely controlled techniques are being presented and discussed more and more in the decommissioning community,” Tetiana Kilochytska, a decommissioning specialist in the IAEA’s Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation Section, told NEI. As part of the survey, the IAEA sent out a Global


Decommissioning Strategy questionnaire to more than 50 countries and evaluated the responses alongside data from the IAEA’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS), Research Reactor Data base (RRDB) and Integrated Nuclear Fuel Cycle Information System (iNFCIS). IAEA also hosted a series of technical meetings over three years that brought together dozens of experts from some 20 countries as well as the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD and the European Commission to share experiences and provide feedback. Countries managing accident sites such as those in


Japan are using innovative robotic technology and remote inspection tools to locate and characterise fuel debris in an effort to retrieve and dispose of this material. Technologies such as 3D modelling or building information modelling (BIM), virtual reality and remotely controlled technologies, including drones and robots, are also being applied increasingly to the decommissioning of facilities. These technologies enable more efficient collection, understanding, display and management of data, allowing different scenarios to be visualised during planning and preparation of dismantling and decontamination activities. “Coupling BIM with GPS or location-aware Wifi networks enables the deployment of semi- or fully autonomous robotics systems and drones,” said Hannes Hanggi of the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, who helped lead the IAEA project. “They have the potential to significantly lower costs, further increase safety and enhance performance in decommissioning projects.”


Above: Spot the robot dog has been deployed at Sellafield Photo credit: MikeDotta/Shutterstock.com


16 | August 2022 | www.neimagazine.com


Lessons from Chornobyl and Fukushima Kilochytska told NEI how the Chornobyl and Fukushima accidents had influenced the use of robotic technology in


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