Savannah River Site fire: Emergency declared, then lifted after lab blaze; one worker hurt, no contamination detected

A fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory triggered a Site Area Emergency at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina, on Wednesday evening, Oct. 28. Officials said the fire was put out, radiological surveys found no detectable contamination, and the emergency was ended at 9:45 p.m. One employee was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Workers were told to report to work as scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 29, according to the site’s latest news release.

What happened at the Savannah River Site

According to SRS officials, a fire was reported at the Savannah River National Laboratory, a research and development facility inside the federal complex. WRDW News 12 reported that, according to SRS, the fire was in a single room.

The site’s official releases give two different times for the emergency declaration. News Release #2 put it at 5:39 p.m., while News Release #3 and several news outlets list 5:07 p.m. Either way, the emergency lasted several hours before officials terminated it at 9:45 p.m.

“The fire has been extinguished, and no radiological contamination has been reported. One employee was taken to the hospital for minor injuries,” a DOE spokesperson told South Carolina Public Radio.

Officials have not said what caused the fire.

Was there a radiation release?

This is the detail many readers want to know, and reports should be read carefully. WRDW reported that SRS described “an unfiltered ground-level radiological release” connected to the fire. At the same time, SRS said radiological surveys “indicated no detectable levels of contamination.” The Post and Courier quoted officials as saying no contamination was detected “outside the affected facility,” and site alerts said there was no indication of impacts beyond the site’s boundaries.

WRDW was told the incident was not a danger to the public outside the site’s border. No public evacuation or shelter order for nearby communities was reported.

A spokesperson for site contractor Centerra-SRS told WRDW that “at no time was accountable equipment lost.”

Precautions during the emergency

While the emergency was active, the site took several precautionary steps, according to SRS statements and local reports:

• Barricades at site entrances were closed to incoming traffic.
• Rail, river and air traffic near the site were restricted.
• Workers in the lab area (A Area) sheltered in place for about 30 minutes, WRDW reported.
• The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions around Aiken, describing the event as a “US GOVT NUCLEAR INCIDENT AT SAVANNAH RIVER SITE,” The Post and Courier reported. The restrictions were lifted late Wednesday.

Highway 125 stayed open. Barricades reopened around 9:18 p.m., according to South Carolina Public Radio, and protective actions were lifted when the emergency ended.

What is the Savannah River Site?

The Savannah River Site covers about 310 square miles across Aiken, Barnwell and Allendale counties. It was built in the early 1950s to produce plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons. Since the Cold War ended, it has focused on nuclear materials management, environmental cleanup, and research and development, according to South Carolina Public Radio and WRDW.

The Savannah River National Laboratory is the DOE lab on the site, focused on research into nuclear materials, environmental cleanup and related technologies.

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