First Onsite Deployment of Robotic Swabbing at Sellafield

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Markets

Nuclear
Services

Decomissioning

Project delivery

Engineering & design
Location

Sellafield, Cumbria, UK
Client

Sellafield Ltd
Completion date

July 2025

Callum Taylor

Digital Technician, United Kingdom contact form

Candice Long

Digital Solutions Engineer, United Kingdom contact form

Overview

In a UK nuclear industry first, AtkinsRéalis, working as part of The Decommissioning Alliance (TDA), deployed a quadruped robotic platform fitted with a bespoke swabbing payload to undertake remote loose contamination monitoring within a live Sellafield Ltd facility.

The deployment demonstrated that routine swabbing can be completed in a radiologically challenging environment without requiring personnel to enter the primary hazard area. The robot navigated to defined survey locations, collected and securely stored swabs, and returned them for standard radiological assessment while operators remained in a safer location outside the elevated dose rate area.

The work provided a practical proof of concept for remote contamination monitoring, supporting ALARP-led delivery, improving survey traceability and creating a stronger foundation for repeatable robotic workflows in hazardous environments.

Client challenges

Nuclear licensed sites must monitor controlled and supervised areas to identify any breakdown in control measures and support correct area designation under the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17). Loose contamination monitoring is typically completed by Health Physics and Safety (HP&S) workers using manual swabbing and radiation measurement.

In elevated dose rate or contaminated areas, this activity can expose workers to radiological hazards and limit how frequently or extensively surveys can be undertaken. The challenge was to demonstrate that a robotic system could replicate the rigour, traceability and usability of manual contamination swabbing while reducing direct personnel exposure.

The deployment required the ability to collect samples from defined survey points, maintain clear traceability for each swab, safely store and retrieve samples for analysis, and allow the operation to be carried out remotely from a safer working location.

Our role and solution

AtkinsRéalis led the planning and delivery of the deployment through the TDA programme, working closely with Sellafield Ltd, the Remote Technologies Group (RTG) and radiological protection stakeholders to demonstrate a new approach to contamination monitoring.

In July 2025, the team deployed a quadruped robotic platform into an area with elevated radiation dose rates of approximately 100 microsieverts (μSv) per hour, a measure of radiation exposure. The area also had a history of fluctuating loose contamination levels.

TDA designed and commissioned a bespoke swabbing payload capable of replicating the manual swabbing technique while providing secure onboard storage to prevent the spread of contamination.

The solution combined:

A bespoke robotic swabbing tool designed and commissioned by TDA.
A custom control interface that allowed operators to remotely deploy, retrieve and store swabs.
A mapped survey methodology using point cloud data and 0.5 m grid references.
Remote operation from outside the contaminated and elevated dose rate area.

Operators could deploy a swab, guide the platform to the sampling location, complete the swabbing activity and return the swab to secure storage for retrieval and assessment.

Delivery approach

The deployment followed an operational workflow designed to mirror real-world radiological monitoring activities. This included defining survey requirements, configuring the robotic platform and payload, establishing the survey grid, conducting remote sampling activities and returning collected swabs for standard radiological assessment.

The payload was able to carry six swab tools at a time. Once all six had been used, the robotic platform returned to the remote operating area where swabs could be removed and replaced with a new set. This enabled continued operation without requiring personnel to enter the primary survey area.

Unlike a laboratory-based trial, the technology was tested in a live Sellafield facility. The system operated for extended periods, typically six to eight hours per day over several weeks, in an elevated dose rate environment of approximately 100 microsieverts per hour, with no adverse effects on its electronics.

The deployment of our robotic swabbing solution at Sellafield Ltd marks a major milestone for TDA and a proud moment for everyone involved. This achievement showcases what's possible when innovation, engineering excellence and true collaboration come together.

Jamie Beaumont

TDA HSE Lead

Outcomes and value

Robot-collected swabs were periodically followed by manually collected swabs from Health Physics & Safety personnel to validate the results. Results were comparable, with a review of average loose contamination levels from previous surveys showing less than 20% variance. This demonstrated that robot-collected swab results can be considered similar to those obtained through conventional Health Physics & Safety monitoring, while recognising that fluctuating contamination levels and operator dependency can contribute to differences.

The deployment delivered a number of significant outcomes:

Demonstrated the first onsite deployment of a quadruped robot carrying out remote loose contamination swabbing at a Sellafield facility.
Reduced the need for personnel to enter the primary survey area, supporting ALARP-led working and dose reduction.
Established a repeatable remote swabbing workflow using defined survey locations, secure onboard swab storage and standard radiological assessment.
Generated results comparable with conventional HP&S swabbing, helping build confidence in the approach.
Improved survey traceability and repeatability through a mapped, grid-based methodology.
Confirmed the feasibility of robotic contamination monitoring in a live nuclear facility and established a foundation for future first-entry and routine monitoring applications.

The deployment confirmed that remote swabbing is practical, repeatable and operationally effective in a live nuclear environment. It also highlighted the importance of clearly defined sample locations, secure sample handling, operator training and comparative validation against conventional health physics methods.

Future development is expected to focus on improving operator efficiency, increasing the number of sample locations per deployment, integrating digital survey records and exploring wider applications for routine monitoring and hazard identification in comparable hazardous environments.