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Workers are introducing a first at EM's Paducah site – the use of robotic technology – to set the stage for future deactivation and remediation work at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP).
Office of Environmental Management
August 23, 2022
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PAUCACH, Ky. – Workers are introducing a first at EM's Paducah site – the use of robotic technology – to set the stage for future deactivation and remediation work at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP).
With the Paducah site in the early stages of decommissioning process buildings, site engineers recently tested a robotic pipe crawler to inspect pipes previously used to support uranium enrichment operations. The system is tailored for use in process gas lines and other PGDP devices. A similar system is used to inspect municipal water pipes.
The robotic crawler transports a camera and sodium iodide detector to locate uranium deposits through process pipes and equipment.
At the end of the inspection, workers download a file containing the data collected during the robot scan, which indicates where debris is located in the equipment. This new technology offers analysts a secure way to learn more about the contents of these pipes without having to manually scan each pipe section.
The work is being carried out by Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), EM's deactivation and remediation contractor for the PGDP.
“Robotic technology allows our analysts a rare look into process gas lines and equipment without having to cut or drill into the piping,” said FRNP Program Manager Myrna Redfield.
In addition, the pipe crawler robot is expected to play an important role in determining a safe and compliant method for disposing of process gas pipelines.
“Similar technology was used at our sister facility in Portsmouth, Ohio,” said Joel Bradburne, site manager for the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. “The shared insights from Portsmouth allowed us to improve these capabilities for use in Paducah, while making the most of best-practice applications.”
Click here to watch a video about robotic pipe crawler technology.
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