Nuclear: Risk Reduction of Glovebox Operations

MARKETS: Power & renewables; Nuclear

LOCATION: Cumbria, England

CLIENT: Sellafield Ltd

COLLABORATORS: Cavendish Nuclear, Taylor Kightley Engineering, UKAEA

The Challenge

Gloveboxes are essential for handling radioactive materials safely, but they can pose a risks to human operators during their operation and decommissioning generating a need to reduce direct human interaction with these environments.

Traditional Post-Operational Clean-Out (POCO) methods required operators to work in close proximity to contaminated materials, increasing the risk of exposure to radiological hazards and limiting operational efficiency. Nuclear: Risk Reduction of Glovebox Operations

The Solution

To address this challenge, AtkinsRéalis partnered with Sellafield Ltd, in collaboration with supply chain specialists and research organizations. to develop and deploy the RrOBO Active Demonstrator (AD) project. At the heart of the initiative is ARGO (Atkins Remote Glovebox Operations), a robotic arm and manipulator platform pioneered by AtkinsRéalis. ARGO enables remote, precise, and safe glovebox activities, removing operators from direct contact with hazardous materials. The system was deployed into two gloveboxes on site at the MOX Active Demonstration Facility, where it performed a complex series of tasks, while maintaining full containment integrity.

Key features of the solution include

• Remote robotic manipulation for high-precision tasks
• Integrated safety case development and assurance led by AtkinsRéalis
• Agile delivery model under the Decommissioning Mindset Arrangement (DMA 005)
• Collaborative operation between ADAPT engineers and Sellafield operators to ensure realism and scalability

Removing hands from gloveboxes is a key challenge for the nuclear industry and we're proud to be helping drive change and improve safety. This collaboration is a great demonstration of how solutions from other industries can be integrated into the nuclear sector in a lean and agile manner. By driving innovation, we can make nuclear operations safer and more efficient.

Mark Blair, Market Director – Decommissioning

The Results

Given the number of gloveboxes at the Sellafield site, the initial innovative study and sandpit phase has involved recording the characteristics of each glovebox and then undertaking a process to down-select the gloveboxes best suited for robotic application. Typically, these are the gloveboxes that involve high-risk activities such as handling of sharp objects. A sandpit phase is concluding, which has trialed the robotic technologies to the limits of their capabilities. Learnings from the study and sandpit will be used to develop a robotic toolbox for active trialing on Post Operational Clear Out (POCO) and decommissioning tasks.

The RrOBO project has delivered outstanding results:

• Completed four months ahead of schedule
• Delivered significantly under budget
• Demonstrated the viability of robotic glovebox operations
• Provided valuable insights into glovebox ergonomics, contamination control, and remote tooling

The success of this project sets a new benchmark for both innovation and collaboration in nuclear decommissioning. It also shows the value of human-robot collaborationand lays the foundation for broader deployment

What’s Next

The project team recommends further deployments of ARGO and continued development to support a wider range of glovebox configurations. This approach will help accelerate decommissioning timelines, reduce risk to personnel, and enhance operational efficiency across the UK’s nuclear legacy estate.