Radiological Mapping of Post-Disaster Nuclear Environments Using Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Systems: A Study From Chornobyl

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath following a large-scale release of radioactive material into the environment, it is necessary to determine the spatial distribution of radioactivity quickly. At present, this is conducted by utilizing manned aircraft equipped with large-volume radiation detection systems. Whilst these are capable of mapping large areas quickly, they suffer from a low spatial resolution due to the operating altitude of the aircraft. They are also expensive to deploy and their manned nature means that the operators are still at risk of exposure to potentially harmful ionizing radiation. Previous studies have identified the feasibility of utilizing unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in monitoring radiation in post-disaster environments. However, the majority of these systems suffer from a limited range or are too heavy to be easily integrated into regulatory restrictions that exist on the deployment of UASs worldwide. This study presents a new radiation mapping UAS based on a lightweight (8 kg) fixed-wing unmanned aircraft and tests its suitability to mapping post-disaster radiation in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ). The system is capable of continuous flight for more than 1 h and can resolve small scale changes in dose-rate in high resolution (sub-20 m). It is envisaged that with some minor development, these systems could be utilized to map large areas of hazardous land without exposing a single operator to a harmful dose of ionizing radiation.

BVLOS UAS Operations in Highly-Turbulent Volcanic Plumes

“…For reference, the coordinates of the take-off location and summit were [−4.0407N, 145.0356E] and [−4.0776N, 145.0384E], respectively, which are separated by ~4.3 km horizontal distance and 1600 m vertical ascent. The Titan has a proven performance history for long-range missions having previously been deployed for low altitude survey missions where a flight duration of 1 h was achieved with a similar payload mass (Connor et al, 2020 ). Here, the expected flight duration was reduced to ~30 min to accommodate the increased power consumption during the initial climb flight segment.…”

Radiological Identification of Near-Surface Mineralogical Deposits Using Low-Altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

“…Future work in this area will seek to transition autonomous fixed-wing airframes equipped with miniaturised radiation mapping payloads and the next generation of detectors (such as those recently used to determine the distribution of radiation within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone [28]), to resource exploration. Operating at higher altitudes and greater survey velocities than the multi-rotor UAVs Following earlier studies utilizing UAVs to investigate contamination distribution and evolution associated with historic UK mine operations [14] and radiocesium fallout from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident [26,27], these results advocate that this low-cost aerial system can be deployed as a valuable and rapidly deployable component of the wider exploration 'toolkit'-namely on more local scales, by non-specialist users and those without significant financial means to undertake more costly regional-scale mapping.…”

“…Future work in this area will seek to transition autonomous fixed-wing airframes equipped with miniaturised radiation mapping payloads and the next generation of detectors (such as those recently used to determine the distribution of radiation within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone [28]), to resource exploration. Operating at higher altitudes and greater survey velocities than the multi-rotor UAVs deployed in this exploratory work (hence avoiding topographic features), these fixed-wing systems can additionally attain considerably greater flight durations, therefore covering larger survey areas per flight and charge of its batteries.…”

Radiation Mapping and Laser Profiling Using a Robotic Manipulator

“…A python script was written to calculate the counts identified within the peak range and subtract from that the baseline reading to correct for background. A multiplication factor was applied to convert the raw count value within the energy range to a dose rate in μSvh −1 , using the method described in Connor et al ( 2020 ).…”

“…the raw count value within the energy range to a dose rate in µSvh −1 , using the method described in Connor et al (2020).…”