New simulator will train Savannah River’s remote crane operators

May 21, 2025, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
Simulator instructor Marc Widener at the controls of a new crane simulator for the Savannah River Site’s Defense Waste Processing Facility.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said it will use a new simulator to help train operators on the safe and efficient movement of a remotely operated crane at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The DWPF, where Savannah River’s liquid high-level radioactive waste is vitrified and placed into storage containers, uses an unmanned bridge crane system to install and replace equipment in the high-humidity, high-radiation, and harsh chemical environment of the facility’s processing cells.