How do you decommission a nuclear installation? Call in the robots

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative project to safely cleanup and decommission a major nuclear facility. Design/methodology/approach The approach is to design and apply robotic technology to custom designed robots that can address specific needs in safely removing major structures and cleaning and decontaminating areas of a nuclear processing plant. Findings The paper finds that frequently, robots are the answer but commercially available units may not be the suitable solution so designing custom robotics may be the best answer. Practical implications Firms considering approaches to handling hazardous cleanup conditions can look to the experience in Scotland for designing robotic answers for special needs handling applications. Originality/value This may be the first major hazardous site to design and employ custom robotic techniques to handle most cleanup tasks.