An emerging technology combining a drone with a highly sensitive gamma-ray detector will be deployed in coming months to monitor radiation at contaminated uranium legacy sites in Central Asia. These sites are former uranium mining and processing areas in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and this advanced drone technology will support the safe and secure monitoring of radiation levels at these sites.
“Uranium mining and processing in this region between the 1940s and 1990s has left behind a number of radioactively contaminated uranium legacy sites,” said Sven Altfelder, an IAEA remediation safety specialist, adding that ‘experts in Central Asia monitor these sites for radioactivity on foot, wearing backpacks equipped with gamma-ray spectrometers that detect the presence of natural radionuclides, including uranium.” As most of the uranium legacy sites lie in difficult-to-reach mountainous and seismically active areas, monitoring with backpacks is challenging and less efficient, he said.
This challenge was recognized by the IAEA’s Coordination Group for Uranium Legacy Sites (CGULS), which in 2017 partnered with a consortium of experts from Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to implement a research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that collaborated to develop the drone that is currently in the final testing phase.
The new technology will make monitoring radiation at the sites, an integral part of environmental remediation, easier and safer. “The tailor-made UAV-based gamma spectrometer will make it possible for experts to explore sites without the need to trek through difficult terrain with lots of gear,” said Altfelder. “By using the UAV to conduct monitoring duties, experts in the region will be able to easily gather the necessary data quickly, while avoiding potential physical and radiological risks altogether.”
The initial phase of the project was completed in 2020 with the practical tests of the system in Ronneburg, Germany, where detailed contamination maps were obtained from the flights over partially remediated uranium legacy sites. Throughout this phase, the IAEA’s CGULS has facilitated participation of Central Asian experts in practical workshops and coordination meetings and provided logistical assistance for the field work. Practical training for Central Asian experts by the IAEA on the use of the system in the region is scheduled to take place later this year.
Tailor-made technology
