Rainbow in the reactor!

CCTV

Oldbury Nuclear Power Station began generating electricity in 1967, but is due to cease operations by 2008. At that point, fuel will be progressively removed from the reactors and sent to Sellafield for treatment, a process that is expected to take up to three years.

Until that time, and as part of its remit to ensure that the Oldbury Nuclear Power Station works properly and is safe to operate, British Nuclear Group Reactor Sites (BNGRS) performs detailed observations inside the plant’s reactors using specially-built manipulators and robots. Those procedures allow the company to meet criteria set by an external body, in this case the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate.

Rainbow’s 8-80 mm zoom lenses function from the manipulators on multi-articulated limbs using a racking focus set-up. Operators perform the inspections while working on the power plant’s pile cap which is approximately 50 feet above the reactor’s core, with communication channels fed along the arm from umbilicals. All images are observed in real-time and recorded on DVR and tape.

Consultants will be aware that refocusing between far and close objects often only occurs a few times before the operator loses his or her infinity focus point. BNGRS has addressed this problem by creating electronic circuitry which brings the user back to a datum point at the touch of a button.

The Rainbow-supplied surveillance units have already spent 18 consecutive days inside the reactor. Apparently, they have functioned without a fault and allowed inspections to be completed in full with days to spare. The perfect end result for the client.

Rainbow CCTV – Enquiry 101