AIKEN, S.C. - EM’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is applying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) - more commonly called drones - to support the cleanup mission at Savannah River Site (SRS).
Until recently, flying a UAS was not permitted at SRS. In recent months, SRNL worked with the site to develop an operations manual and program plan, procured commercially available UASs, and trained personnel. SRNL has since flown several successful missions and is preparing for more.
Originally developed for use by other federal agencies, the laboratory’s UAS program is expanding to a variety of EM-related applications, including collecting field data, and monitoring and inspecting remediated facilities.
“We are going very methodically, very cautiously, and deliberately as we look at what’s possible," said Todd Coleman, program manager for SRNL’s National Security Strategic Initiatives. “It really is opening up many options to reduce risk to workers and reduce cost to perform difficult tasks or in some cases perform things we’ve never really been able to do."
SRNL collaborates with the DOE-Savannah River Office of Safeguards and Security, DOE-Savannah River Flight Readiness Review Board, SRS Operations Center, DOE headquarters’ Office of Aviation Management, and Federal Aviation Administration to conduct the missions.
Earlier this year, SRNL worked with SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) to use a UAS to capture video of the entombed P Reactor building rooftops. The flight provided about an hour of video, enabling SRNS personnel to perform a clear inspection of areas that might affect the integrity of the roof. The method previously used for such inspections was a site photographer in a helicopter. That was time-consuming and did not provide the desired detail, Coleman said.
SRNL is set to return with a special hexacopter equipped with a herbicide spray apparatus to target and spot-treat unwanted vegetation on the roof of both P and R reactor buildings. SRNL is partnering with Virginia Tech, which has this aircraft as part of its Unmanned Systems Laboratory, to accomplish the mission.
SRNL and SRNS are working to identify more opportunities to use UASs to support the cleanup mission and site infrastructure, including inspection of power lines.
“In several areas of the site, there are high transmission power lines that are in difficult locations or are extremely hard to inspect," Coleman said. “This is a great opportunity to make a real impact on site operations."
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
