Fire at Savannah River Lab Ends Emergency, No Contamination Found
A blaze at the research facility near Aiken, South Carolina, halted traffic and sheltered workers but was extinguished without releasing material outside the building.
By Nicholas James ·
Officials at the Savannah River National Laboratory declared an emergency at 5:39 p.m. on Tuesday after a fire broke out at the site near Aiken, South Carolina. The facility is part of the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, which produces materials for nuclear weapons.
Traffic at the facility’s entrances stopped temporarily as part of the emergency response. A news release stated that rail, river, and air traffic in the surrounding area were restricted out of precaution. By 9:18 p.m., site officials confirmed that all entrance barriers had resumed normal operations.
The emergency was officially terminated at 9:45 p.m. Facility leaders directed the response and notified state and local government agencies. They reported that no contamination was found outside the laboratory where the fire occurred.
Workers on shift were permitted to report to duty as usual after the initial disruption. Employees located in the affected areas who were not involved in response or shutdown operations were sheltered as a precaution. Officials had earlier advised residents to monitor local news for any required actions.
The Savannah River Site includes both the national laboratory and a defense complex overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration. Battelle Savannah River Alliance manages the lab, while Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC, manages the defense site. More than 13,000 contractors and federal employees work at the location.
Constructed in the 1950s, the complex originally produced tritium and plutonium for US nuclear weapons. It continues to produce tritium and handles spent nuclear fuel, uranium, and plutonium. The laboratory area where the fire started focuses primarily on research rather than large-scale production or storage.
The site is central to the US government’s effort to restart mass production of nuclear warheads. The National Nuclear Security Administration recently approved full-scale construction for a new plutonium pit facility. According to the trade publication Exchange Monitor, that project is expected to cost approximately $23.5 billion.
Source: CNN
