The US Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (DOE EM) recently awarded the Savannah River Site Mission Completion Contract to Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC). The contract covers a range of services including liquid waste stabilization/disposition, nuclear materials management and stabilization, project management and support, storage of liquid radioactive waste, remediation, treatment, and disposal of nuclear materials and spent nuclear fuel, remediation and treatment of contaminated surface water, groundwater, and soils, and decontamination of nuclear facilities and equipment. To support the critical project, SRMC turned to Eddyfi Technologies' Center of Excellence for Robotics, which has a long history of designing and manufacturing modular robotic systems for use in confined spaces and hazardous environments. Eddyfi's expertise in remote controlled robotic mobility/transport systems with visual inspection, instrumentation, and tooling has earned the company a reputation as the expert in this field.

In nuclear remediation, sampling robots are essential for remote operation in confined and hazardous environments. These tooling robots are crucial in the heel characterization process, which involves analyzing the residual sludge or sediment left at the bottom of tanks that have stored radioactive waste. The sludge or sediment, known as "heel", is a mixture of solid particles and liquid. By using specialized equipment such as remotely operated vehicles, samples of the heel can be collected and analyzed for physical, chemical, and radiological properties. This information is used to develop a safe and effective plan for removing and disposing of the waste. The use of sampling robots helps to minimize the risk of human exposure to radiation and hazardous materials while increasing the efficiency and accuracy of the remediation process.

Read the full article at Eddyfi.com.