AIKEN, S.C. — Officials terminated a site area emergency late Wednesday evening after a room fire at a federal nuclear research facility near Aiken, South Carolina, prompted temporary traffic closures and sent one worker to the hospital.
The fire broke out inside a single room at the Savannah River National Laboratory shortly before 5:40 p.m., according to the U.S. Department of Energy and facility officials. Responders extinguished the blaze within two hours, and authorities officially declared the emergency over at 9:45 p.m. following extensive safety surveys.
Discrepancies over radiological release
Initial notices from the Savannah River Site indicated that the incident caused an “unfiltered ground-level radiological release,” local television station WRDW reported. However, emergency managers said subsequent radiological monitoring found no detectable levels of contamination either inside the broader complex or beyond its boundaries.
A spokesperson for the Energy Department’s Savannah River Operations Office told Fox News and the New York Post that “no radiological contamination has been reported.” Site officials also confirmed that the incident never posed a threat to residents living outside the complex perimeter.
Emergency crews transported one employee to an area hospital with minor injuries, according to the Department of Energy. Additional details about the worker’s condition were not released.
Protective actions and travel restrictions
During the peak of the emergency, personnel working in the laboratory’s Area A were instructed to shelter in place behind barricades for about 30 minutes, WRDW reported. Facility operators also ordered other workers who were not directly involved in emergency response efforts or facility shutdown procedures to take shelter as a safety precaution.
Security personnel temporarily barricaded entrances to block incoming vehicles, while authorities placed restrictions on river, railroad and regional air traffic. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction over the installation that extended into parts of eastern Georgia near Waynesboro, citing a “U.S. Gov’t Nuclear Incident,” WSB-TV reported. The flight notice was slated to remain active through early Friday.
State Highway 125 stayed open during the response, and Centerra-SRS, which handles security operations, told WRDW that no accountable equipment went missing during the disruption.
Cold War legacy and ongoing mission
The Savannah River Site spans approximately 310 square miles across Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties in western South Carolina. Built during the Cold War in the early 1950s, the complex initially operated five reactors designed to manufacture tritium and plutonium-239 for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
In the decades following the Cold War, the site transitioned toward environmental cleanup, long-term storage of excess plutonium, spent fuel management and tritium maintenance to support the U.S. strategic nuclear deterrent. The Savannah River National Laboratory represents one of 17 national laboratories overseen by the Energy Department, conducting research in nuclear materials and environmental remediation.
Site officials announced that regular barricades reopened before midnight and oncoming shift workers should report to the complex as scheduled on Thursday, with all normal operations resuming without further delays.
