A fire at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina triggered a Site Area Emergency on Wednesday, October 28, shortly after 5:39 p.m., according to DOE and site officials.

The blaze broke out in a single room at the Savannah River National Laboratory near Aiken, South Carolina, and was extinguished in less than two hours. One employee was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, a DOE spokesperson said. Local emergency dispatch described an "unfiltered ground-level radiological release" associated with the incident, according to WRDW, the local broadcaster. However, the DOE spokesperson stated that "no radiological contamination has been reported," and Savannah River Site officials confirmed no contamination was detected outside the affected facility.

The incident prompted immediate protective measures. Employees in Area A, the laboratory's location, were instructed to shelter in place for approximately 30 minutes. Workers not involved in emergency response or shutdown operations were also sheltered as a precaution. Site entrances were barricaded to incoming traffic, and all rail, river, and air traffic near the facility was restricted. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a temporary flight restriction covering a 15-nautical-mile radius around the site, extending to 10,000 feet above sea level.

The emergency was terminated at 9:45 p.m. after radiological surveys found no detectable contamination levels. All protective actions were lifted, and site barricades reopened. Highway 125 remained open throughout the incident. Officials announced that oncoming shift workers were instructed to report as scheduled on Thursday, October 29, with other employees told to return to work as usual.

The Savannah River Site is a 310-square-mile Department of Energy complex spread across Aiken, Barnwell, and Allendale counties. Constructed in the early 1950s during the Cold War, the facility originally produced materials for nuclear weapons, including plutonium-239 and tritium. Today, the complex handles radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, and excess plutonium, while continuing tritium operations that support the nation's nuclear deterrent. The Savannah River National Laboratory conducts research in nuclear environmental cleanup, energy technologies, and national security applications.