[en] Material handling of radioactive and hazardous materials has forced the need to pursue remotely operated and robotic systems in light of operational safety concerns. Manual maneuvering, repackaging, overpacking and inspecting of containers which store radioactive and hazardous materials is the present mode of operation at the Department of Energy (DOE) Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) in Fernald Ohio. The manual methods are unacceptable in the eyes of concerned site workers and influential community oversight committees. As an example to respond to the FEMP material handling needs, design efforts have been initiated to provide a remotely operated system to repackage thousands of degradated drums containing radioactive Thorium: Later, the repackaged Thorium will be shipped offsite to a predesignated repository again requiring remote operation