RadLive: a new solution for remote radiological risk management, laureate of the France Relance plan
CERAP Prévention, a subsidiary of ENDEL and an expert in risk prevention within the nuclear sector, announces that it has received a grant as part of the France Relance investment plan. This will enable its teams to finalise the development of a brand new technology that can produce real-time mapping of the radiological exposure of each person present in a risk zone. This innovation will be able to significantly improve safety for maintenance and decommissioning teams working in all French nuclear installations.
Mapping and live monitoring of the radiological situation
There currently exists no way of instantly informing teams of the dosimetry received in the event of a radiological event: the slight displacement of protective equipment, a ruptured pipe during dismantling, etc. Mapping produced before an intervention is static and the monitoring beacons are only active within a limited zone on-site.
To respond to this problem that is common in French nuclear installations and to further improve personal safety, the CERAP Prevention teams are developing a remote, live, and continuous radiological risk control solution. By implementing a device measuring geolocated dose rates that is carried by each worker, the RadLive project will generate real-time radiological mapping of the site, therefore making it possible to monitor the individual and collective dosimetry from an off-site control station.
The objective of the RadLive system is thus to optimise worker safety on a nuclear site in accordance with the ALARA principle in force: "As Low As Reasonably Achievable".
A simple and personalised device supplemented by a robotic solution
In concrete terms, each technician will wear a harness equipped with sensors and a rear 3D camera that are connected to the control station. Weighing less than 500 g so as not to hinder any movements, this device will be capable of collecting data and creating mapping based on information relayed from all workers on-site. The control station will also be able to send individual instructions via an application installed on a connected terminal. In this way, it will be possible to reorganise each worker's task in order to optimise the collective dosimetry.
The grant awarded under the France Relance plan also means that CERAP Prevention teams can pursue the development of an innovative robot equipped with sensors. This will complete the mapping by penetrating into hard-to-reach corners of certain sites that are inaccessible to humans.
"We are proud to be laureates of the France Relance plan: this is the recognition of our teams' innovation capacity. We work to optimise safety on high-risk sites where multiple teams work each day", declares Daniel Asselot, Deputy Managing Director of CERAP Prevention. "This encourages us in the development of this solution which consolidates the monitoring of nuclear work-sites and contributes to optimising the intervention conditions within French installations "
RadLive: a new solution for remote radiological risk management, laureate of the France Relance plan
