Idaho National Engineering Laboratory decontamination and decommissioning robotics development program

As part of the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Robotics Technology Development Program (RTDP) Decontamination ampersand Decommissioning (D ampersand D) robotics program, a task was designed to integrate the plasma arc cutting technology being developed under the Waste Facility Operations (WFO) robotics program into D ampersand D cutting applications. The plasma arc cutting technology is based upon the use of a high energy plasma torch to cut metallic objects. Traditionally, D ampersand D workers removing equipment and processes from a facility have used plasma arc cutting to accomplish this task. The worker is required to don a protective suit to shield from the high electromagnetic energy released from the cutting operation. Additionally, the worker is required to don protective clothing to shield against the radioactive materials and contamination. This protective clothing can become restrictive and cumbersome to work in. Because some of the work areas contain high levels of radiation, the worker is not allowed to dwell in the environment for sustained periods of time. To help alleviate some of the burdens required to accomplish this task, reduce or eliminate the safety hazardous to the worker, and reduce the overall cost of remediation, a program was established though the Office of Technology Development (OTD) to design and develop a robotic system capable of performing cutting operations using a plasma arc torch. Several D ampersand D tasks were identified having potential for use of the plasma arc cutting technology. The tasks listed below were chosen to represent common D ampersand D type activities where the plasma arc cutting technology can be applied