A robotic pipe‐asbestos insulation removal system

Abstract

The big‐on‐asbestos (BOA) system is a mobile pipe‐external robotic crawler used to remotely strip and bag asbestos‐containing lagging and insulation materials (ACLIM) from various diameter pipes in (primarily) industrial installations. Steam and process lines within the Department of Energy (DoE) weapons complex warrant the use of a remote device due to the high labor costs and high level of radioactive contamination, making manual removal extremely costly and highly inefficient. Currently targeted facilities for demonstration and remediation are Fernald in Ohio and Oak Ridge in Tennessee.