Hands Out of Gloveboxes - Human Factors Support

Manual glovebox activities (personnel using gloveport gloves to undertake tasks within the glovebox containment) require personnel to work in close proximity to nuclear materials whilst manipulating tools and equipment. The predominant risk associated with such work is internal dose to due injection following penetration of a glove however additional risks include extremity dose to hands and fingers. Therefore, the aspiration is to remove the need for operators to undertake manual glovebox activities. This project is being set up to understand the feasibility of such an idea. The project is set up in two phases.

Phase 1 of the work, which is currently programmed until the end of November 2019, is about:

• Understanding the requirements that the robotic system must perform
• Reviewing the current market availability of robotic systems that may perform the requirements
• Carrying out a controlled assessment of each robotic system to determine its suitability
• Defining any modification work that will conducted in phase 2 to ensure that it will work within a nuclearised environment.

Phase 2 will focus on delivering a robotic system that is remotely controlled and meets the requirements of the customer, this will be competed separately.