Remediating hazardous waste robotically using a high-level control system and real-time sensors

Robotics technology is being developed to assist in remediating high-level radioactive wastes stored in large tanks at the Department of Energy's Hanford, Washington facility. Remediation activities will likely employ a remotely controlled long reach manipulator, capable of extending over 40 feet from its base, to deploy remediation end-effectors and sensors. Waste inside the tanks consists of hazardous vapor, liquid, sludge, solidified crystal, and various steel pipes and miscellaneous hardware. On November 10 - 12, 1992, a demonstration by Sandia National Laboratories of environmental sensor scanning and robot manipulated steel pipe cutting was performed on a tank mockup located at the Hanford facility. This paper describes the Sandia developed technology implemented at this demonstration.