A handle on hazardous materials

Using machines that handle radioactive and chemically hazardous materials clearly carries risks for those who operate them. However, the company that designs and builds these – Gravatom of Bishops Waltham, near Winchester – has developed its own methodology and techniques to keep people safe. The aim is to ensure that things cannot be dropped, cables snagged or dangerous fumes released. And, where operators do have to be exposed, they can undertake maintenance operations in very short timescales, without risk of things going wrong. Designs are prototyped in software and then as full-scale mock-ups, whether they be equipment used in dismantling – or helping to dismantle – nuclear power stations or, increasingly, to handle radioactive materials used in various kinds of medical diagnosis and therapy. More details appear in the May issue of Eureka