A fire at a federal nuclear complex in South Carolina triggered an emergency declaration on Wednesday evening, though officials said there was no indication of contamination beyond the site’s boundaries.
A fire was reported at the Savannah River Site’s national laboratory in Aiken, but has since been extinguished, according to SRS. Officials declared a Site Area Emergency shortly after 5:30 p.m., telling WRDW there had been “an unfiltered ground-level radiological release.”
The Federal Aviation Administration swiftly issued a temporary flight restriction in the area, citing a U.S. government “nuclear incident” at the federal complex. SRS later stated that “no contamination has been reported outside the affected facility.”
“As a precaution, barricades at site entrances have been closed to incoming traffic,” it said in a press release. “Rail, river, and air traffic in the vicinity of SRS is also being restricted. SRS officials are directing response efforts and have notified the appropriate state and local government agencies.”
SRS is a Department of Energy industrial and nuclear complex. The sprawling facility includes parts of Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties, and covers about 310 square miles.
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After the incident at the active hub for national security and nuclear science, authorities told News 12 there was no danger to the public outside the vast SRS border.
The facility went into brief lockdown, according to the outlet, with employees in the lab area having to shelter in place behind barricades for about 30 minutes.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
