Engineering news
Sellafield has successfully tested a portable laser-based decommissioning tool at its Active Demonstrator Facility that safely and quickly collects and analyses radioactivity in contaminated surfaces such as concrete, plastic, wood and brick.
The Viridiscope, developed by engineer and managing director of Viridian Consultants Kym Jarvis, takes samples from a surface using laser ablation rather than a conventional drilling tool. This produces less debris than results from the traditional process and reduces potential exposure to workers. According to Jarvis, the Viridiscope allows for safer, faster and cheaper decommissioning.
The sample is transported along a line 20m away where it is collected in a sampling pod and sealed. The pod is then tested for gamma radiation measurements.
The Viridiscope was used to sample several different areas of the demonstrator and comparative samples were taken using conventional drilling techniques.
The Viridiscope is part of an Innovate UK R&D project, which recently awarded Jarvis £50,000 as part of a female entrepreneur award. Out of 34 finalists, the Viridiscope was the only nuclear entry.
Jarvis said: “The Innovate UK funding will allow us to develop another detector which will go inside this device to measure alpha radiation. It’s an alpha measurement that’s not usually used in the nuclear industry and is much more robust. It uses the interaction of alpha particles with the nitrogen in the air to form fluorescence, so we measure alpha radiation using light.
“We can place the device on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) so it doesn’t have to be held by a person, and can be sent in on a robot. We’re using a ROV called the WallRover that climbs walls to collect the sample.”
The samples taken at Sellafield have been sent to an independent laboratory for assessment. Jarvis expects the Viridiscope to be commercialised for use in collecting and analysing radioactivity from the rubble of facilities that are set to be demolished in the coming decade.