An emergency at a South Carolina nuclear site has been lifted after a fire at a laboratory there was put out, with officials saying no contamination was found outside the affected building.
The fire was reported at the Savannah River National Laboratory on Wednesday evening, October 28, on the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. A site area emergency was declared at around 5:39 p.m. local time.
By 7:30 p.m., officials said the fire had been extinguished. Radiological surveys found no detectable levels of contamination, and no contamination was reported outside the affected facility, according to USA Today.
As a precaution, entrances to the site were closed to incoming traffic, and rail, river and air traffic in the area were restricted while emergency teams responded. Employees who were not involved in the response or shutdown work sheltered in place in affected areas, and nearby residents were advised to follow local television and radio for instructions from state authorities.
Local broadcaster WRDW, citing the site, reported that the fire caused an unfiltered ground-level radiological release. A Department of Energy spokesperson told the New York Post that one employee was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
At 9:45 p.m., the site announced that the emergency had ended. Protective actions were lifted, barricades reopened, and workers were told to report for their shifts as scheduled.
The Savannah River Site was built in the early 1950s to produce materials used in US nuclear weapons, including tritium and plutonium. In 1992, it moved from weapons production to environmental cleanup, nuclear materials management, and research and development, according to the Department of Energy.
This report is based on reporting by USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/10/28/savannah-river-national-laboratory-fire-south-carolina/92489930007/
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