Fire at South Carolina lab prompts emergency declaration at Savannah River Site
A fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory triggered a Site Area Emergency at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site, leaving one employee with minor injuries. Officials later said no radiological contamination was reported and the emergency was lifted the same evening.
A fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory near Aiken, South Carolina, led the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site to declare a Site Area Emergency on Wednesday evening, leaving one employee with minor injuries. The emergency was later terminated after the fire was extinguished and radiological surveys found no detectable levels of contamination, officials said.
The Savannah River Site declared the emergency at 5:39 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Department of Energy. A DOE spokesperson told Fox News that the injured employee was taken to a hospital. The emergency was terminated at 9:45 p.m., after an updated notice from the site confirmed that the fire had been extinguished and that radiological surveys had detected no contamination.
"No radiological contamination has been reported," the DOE spokesperson said. Once the emergency ended, all protective actions were lifted and site barricades reopened. The site said there were no operational emergencies or scheduled delays. Oncoming shift workers were told to report as usual, and other employees were instructed to return to work as scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 29. Workers who had been directed to shelter in place were also cleared to resume normal duties.
During the incident, officials temporarily barricaded site entrances as a precaution, and traffic at those entrances resumed afterward. Highway 125 remained open throughout. The site had also announced restrictions on all rail, river and air traffic in the vicinity of the facility. Officials continued directing the response and notified the appropriate state and local government agencies. Local residents were advised to monitor local radio and television stations for updates and any instructions from state officials.
The Savannah River Site is a major installation in the nation's weapons complex and has supported the U.S. military's strategic deterrence mission for more than 75 years, according to the site's website. The facility manages nuclear materials and radioactive waste, and its cleanup operations are aimed at protecting the surrounding environment, according to the Department of Energy. The site describes itself as one of the nation's most critical pieces of the weapons complex while also being one of the safest major industrial sites in the world, with national security, worker protection, public safety and environmental protection listed as its highest goals.
The installation was constructed in the 1950s, when five reactors were built to produce materials used in nuclear weapons, primarily tritium and plutonium-239. Several support facilities were also built, including two chemical separation plants. That history gives the site a long role in the country's defense infrastructure, which is why an emergency declaration there draws close attention even when, as in this case, the event is brought under control within hours.
Reporting from other outlets described the fire as having caused what the site called an unfiltered ground-level radiological release, while noting that no contamination was reported outside the affected building. That account differs from the site's later statement that no radiological contamination had been reported, and the difference remains unresolved in the available material. The site's own updates confirmed that all protective actions were lifted after the emergency was terminated.
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