High-Resolution Aerial Radiation Mapping for Nuclear Decontamination and Decommissioning

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are now widely employed as part of numerous applications including defence, search and rescue as well as within scientific fields such as high-altitude atmospheric sampling and remote sensing, to name but a few. However, their application to the high-resolution detection of radiation anomalies (specifically as part of the routine monitoring on nuclear sites) has been less well explored. In this work, we present the results of the radiation monitoring via a lightweight aerial platform on an active nuclear site (Sellafield Ltd.); having already deployed the device in the Fukushima-contaminated region. The system employed was able to detect regions of elevated radiation at the sub-meter scale as well as attributing the species responsible. Such a system presents an extremely powerful tool where it is not desirable, nor practical, to send human operators. Results presented show that the platform is easily capable of operating within the challenging and confined settings of a site such as Sellafield (or other similar sites worldwide).