SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species)is a new INFN facility whose construction is planned for the years 2009-2014. It aims to provide the nuclear physics community with neutron rich nuclei beams produced by impinging an UC target by a proton beam delivered by a commercial cyclotron. Security requirements constitute the most critical issue in the control system design. High reliability PLCs will be extensively used in all applications that affect the personnel and machine safety; redundant configurations will be implemented where appropriate. EPICS has been chosen as general framework for the development of SPES controls: therefore the integration of PLCs in an EPICS network is another key point in the control system design. We present the technical solutions foreseen to comply with SPES safety requirements and discuss the possible approaches to integrate PLCs in the EPICS environment.