Savannah River Site Contractor Completes Complex Operating System Upgrades

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) control room operator Garrett Jarnagin works at a distributed control system console at the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site. SRMC recently completed a major upgrade to the software and hardware for this control system in all four major operating facilities.

AIKEN, S.C. — The contractor cleaning up radioactive tank waste for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has successfully upgraded the complex control system used to monitor and operate nuclear facilities.

In a yearslong, multidiscipline effort, Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) has completed the physical and digital modernization of the distributed control systems (DCS) in the Defense Waste Processing Facility, Salt Waste Processing Facility, Tank Farms, and End Stream Delivery control rooms.

SRMC is EM’s liquid waste contractor responsible for safely treating and disposing of the millions of gallons of waste remaining in the underground tanks at SRS, as well as closing the tanks.

The upgrade included a complete overhaul of the software and hardware used in the DCS. The DCS is the automated computer system and physical controls used to operate most of the facility processes, all connected by a communications network. SRMC operators use the DCS to monitor instrumentation and control equipment, such as pumps and valves, for transfers and other evolutions.

Across the four major operating facilities, 18 total control systems were upgraded, which included the replacement or upgrade of 125 servers, 195 workstations and 236 controllers.

Mirwaise Aurah, SRMC chief information and operational technology officer, said this project was critical to SRMC’s mission to prevent the control rooms from becoming obsolete.

“The operating system that SRMC uses for the DCS will not be supported after October 2026, and inherent cybersecurity risks increase with older operating systems,” Aurah said. “The physical workstations, servers and hardware technology that support the control system in the field were also becoming obsolete. By investing in this upgrade effort, SRMC is positioned to accelerate the mission, confident that our operating systems are safe, secure and efficient.”

The final DCS upgrades were completed during a planned system-wide outage in May to minimize production or facility impacts.

Tony Robinson, DOE-Savannah River acting assistant manager for waste disposition, said ensuring operations remain safe and secure is a priority for EM.

“Completing such a significant and complex upgrade to a system-wide control system validates the Department’s commitment to equipping the program with robust and reliable infrastructure for both near-term and long-term success,” Robinson said.

-Contributor: Colleen Hart