Sponsored post: The TANICS seal of approval

Highly radioactive material is transported in sealed stainless-steel containers which are usually welded to ensure a robust and predictable lifetime seal that maintains structural integrity, criticality-safe geometry and, ultimately, containment during normal operations and in accident conditions.

It’s relatively straightforward to weld and inspect to the required quality during the initial container fabrication process but it’s a different matter when the containers are filled with nuclear material. Because of the radiation hazard, the final closure weld – fixing the lid to the container body – must be performed remotely using a mechanised process.

Until recently, the range of equipment available to the nuclear industry for remote or mechanised stainless-steel welding was generally fixed diameter using large bespoke static equipment that can only be deployed on site in a new build facility specifically designed to accommodate it.

This places severe limitations on welding at nuclear sites generally and also where there is a need to weld different container diameters with a variety of weld types.