nuclear-news

Drones to monitor Japan’s ionising radiation.

Japan to develop drones to monitor radiation http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/sci-tech/japan-to-develop-drones-to-monitor-radiation-20120613-208zs.html#ixzz1xnWor9LB June 13, 2012 Japan’s atomic energy authority and the country’s space agency has announced a joint project to develop a drone to measure radioactivity in the environment after last year’s nuclear disaster. Japan has been forced to invent or improve systems for measuring radioactive contamination since a 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in
March 2011 sparked the world’s worst nuclear crisis in a generation at
the Fukushima atomic plant.
Remote-controlled helicopters have been used but are not suitable for
remote and mountainous territory as they have to fly low and the
operator has to be able to see the aircraft, the Japanese Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) said. But unmanned aircraft could fly at
higher altitudes over potentially contaminated areas, resolving the
issue.
The plan is to develop a 2.6-metre-long aircraft with a 4.2-metre wingspan.
Radiation from Fukushima, in north-eastern Japan, was scattered over a
large area and spread as far as several hundred kilometres from the
power station by wind and rain.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes around the
plant and swathes of the area remain badly polluted. The clean-up is
proceeding slowly, amid warnings that some towns could be
uninhabitable for three decades.

June 14, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, technology