Drones to Be Used to Inspect Radioactive Waste Tanks in the USA
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management will begin using drones for the first time to internally inspect liquid radioactive waste tanks on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Four Flyability Elios 3 model drones equipped with a high-definition camera and thermal camera were purchased for this purpose. In addition, the drones are equipped with 3D-scanning light detection, which can generate precise 3D scans of tanks and waste.
Magnetic wall-crawling robots were previously used in the liquid radioactive waste management program on the Savannah River Site. However, the drones provide more flexibility and capability, as the aircraft can cover more area more quickly than a magnetic crawler. The remote-controlled drones purchased for the project are designed to fly in conflicted spaces thanks to a protective cage that shields the propellors and cameras from potential collisions.
First, the drones will be used to inspect the waste tanks’ annulus, which provides secondary containment and protection for these tanks in the event of a leak. The Savannah River Site has a total of 51 underground carbon-steel tanks – eight of which have already been closed – that were built to contain liquid radioactive waste generated by the site’s processing of nuclear materials. About 34,5 million gallons of waste remain in the tanks.
The drones were subject to testing at the Idaho National Laboratory, which determined the level of radiation exposure the drone is able to withstand before experiencing a failure. That level was found to be sufficient for the purposes of the liquid waste management program.
According to the information from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, all administrative and regulatory requirements have to be complied with before work with the drones can begin. Pilots have to be trained in drone operations, followed by advanced training on successfully navigating the environment of a waste tank and learning best practices for planning flights for optimal results.