A fire broke out Wednesday evening at the Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina, prompting a Site Area Emergency that was later extinguished, with no contamination reported outside the facility, officials said.
According to an Xinhua report, the emergency was declared at 5:39 p.m. local time (2139 GMT). “The fire has since been extinguished. No contamination has been reported outside the affected facility,” the Savannah River Site said in a statement on social media. The emergency was terminated at 9:45 p.m. local time (0145 GMT Thursday).
The Savannah River Site, built in the 1950s to produce tritium and plutonium for U.S. nuclear weapons, is now used for environmental stewardship, cleanup, and nuclear waste management. After the fire, traffic at the facility’s entrances was temporarily shut down; rail, river, and air traffic in the vicinity was restricted as precautionary measures. Employees not involved in the emergency response were also sheltered inside the site.
A WRAL article confirmed the fire’s containment within the laboratory and the absence of contamination outside its borders. The site’s statement, echoed by CNN's brief coverage, noted a shutdown of traffic and a focus on safety procedures.
What remains unconfirmed is the cause of the fire and whether any impact extended beyond the immediate perimeter. No official investigation details have yet been released, and the sources have not provided a definitive explanation.
