nuclear-news

Sellafield decommissioning to continue for at least a century – robot dogs play a part

Robot dogs could help decommission Sellafield nuclear plant after successful trials.

Operators working from the Westlakes Science Park in Whitehaven, around
eight miles from Sellafield, remotely operated “safely and securely” a
custom Boston Dynamics Spot Quadrupedal Robot ‘dog’ that could carry
out tasks such as remote inspections, data gathering and clean-up work.

Energy generation at the plant stopped in 2003, but the painstaking
decommissioning process typically takes decades and presents radioactive
hazards to workers. Sellafield is unusual in that the decommissioning
challenge also encompasses early nuclear research and nuclear weapons
programmes that took place on the site.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is not expecting full site remediation to be completed until 2125.

 Engineering & Technology 20th March 2025

March 22, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | decommission reactor, UK