Monitoring and Scanning Research

Nuclear ponds are used worldwide to store radioactive nuclear material, often for extended periods of time. The pond water conditions need to be closely monitored so that mitigation strategies can be put in place should any leakage of radioactive material occur.

Licensees, facility operators and decommissioning contractors have a need for comprehensive, accurate and precise radiological and topographical data to plan and execute safe and efficient Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) projects. Traditional approaches rely greatly upon labor and administratively intensive data collection methods that require considerable time and effort to glean the relevant data to plan and perform work in a radiological work area.

The University of Bristol’s South West Nuclear Hub is part of two large UK academic research collaborations aiming to reduce the costs of nuclear power by trialing innovative solutions to major decommissioning challenges. Robotics and Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear (RAIN) and the National Centre for Nuclear Robotics (NCNR) are the two collaborations tasked by the UK research councils to coordinate this activity, for the benefit of the nuclear industry.