ASI is the first company in Canada to develop techniques to safely dive in underwater radiological environments.
We offer a wide range of commercial diving services to the nuclear power industry, carried out by highly trained staff experienced in large, complex and multi-disciplinary projects
Nuclear diving (diving in an irradiated environment) at Nuclear Power Generating Stations is one of the many services ASI’s commercial divers can provide. ASI divers are highly trained and experienced and are radiation safety qualified. They have the CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission) site access security clearance to work at Canadian Nuclear Generation Stations.
The only other alternative to hiring commercial divers to perform underwater work in a flooded radiological environment is dewatering. However, dewatering can be time consuming and very high risk because of the hazardous environment and due to potential risk of exposure to acute levels of radiation. Using divers is a safe and effective solution that can provide both operational and economic benefits. Commercial divers can work hands-on with specialty underwater tooling for tactile inspection, maintenance or repair requirements in a safe and time efficient manner.
As water is an effective radiation shield, this means divers can work in a closer proximity to areas with radiation, fixed or loose in a safe manner. During diving operations, the divers’ exposure to radiation is constantly monitored using a teledosimetry, sac transmitter with internal dosimeter and external dosimeters placed under diving dry suit to provide real-time dose monitoring, ensuring worker safety is not at risk at any point of time. In addition to specialized gear and equipment, the diver is also washed down thoroughly before and after entering the water.
Detailed diving procedures with safety back-out measures are adhered to throughout the operation. ASI’s diving plans, risk management and execution continuously follow strict nuclear safety rules such as, ALARA ‘as low as reasonably achievable’, and adheres to the three basic protective measures in radiation safety – ‘time, distance and shielding’.
ASI is committed to the radiation safety principal ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) and operates under strict Quality Control/Assurance guidelines as a registered member of ISO 9001:2015.
ASI’s Nuclear Diving Services
ASI’s specializes in underwater irradiated environment diving for inspection, maintenance and repair in areas including:
- Primary and Secondary Spent Fuel Bays
- Fuel Transfer Bays
- Fuel Handling Systems
- Vacuum Building, Emergency Water Storage Tanks
- In addition, Foreign Material Exclusion (FME) for all the above locations
ASI is a pioneer in planning, managing and safely accomplishing nuclear diving projects in Canada. In fact, ASI is the first company in Canada to provide safe diving practices and procedures in nuclear facilities for inspection and maintenance.
ASI prides itself on being a hub of innovation. ASI’s in-house team of experienced project managers, engineers and divers have developed world-first technology and procedures that focus on diving safety and equipment reliability. In addition to our commercial divers, ASI also owns and operates a fleet of ROVs for inspection and repair support. ASI has also developed technology to meet the unique technical needs of certain projects when the ‘off-the -shelf’ option is not suitable. The ASI Rosebud is one such example.
In 2010, a nuclear facility required a means to safely remove sediment which had been accumulated over the years in an active concrete intake, without shut-down. After conducting numerous meetings with the client to ensure the clients’ needs could be satisfied, ASI’s team of engineers developed the ROSEbud™ (Remotely Operated Submersible Excavation system). The project required removal of sediment that had been accumulated in an active concrete intake duct over the years. ASI’s ROSEbud™ was developed specifically for this project.
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