An emergency was declared Wednesday evening at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina after a fire broke out at the Savannah River National Laboratory.
Site officials declared a Site Area Emergency at 5:39 p.m. on Oct. 28. The fire has since been extinguished, and no contamination has been reported outside the affected facility, according to the Savannah River Site.
The incident triggered an emergency response at the complex near Aiken, South Carolina. Earlier, officials said there was no indication of consequences beyond the site’s boundaries.
The fire involved a single room at the laboratory, and an emergency dispatch described an unfiltered, ground-level radiological release. Employees in the affected area were reportedly ordered to shelter in place for about 30 minutes, according to WRDW.
Officials have not released further details about what caused the fire or whether any contamination occurred inside the facility.
The Savannah River Site is a large Department of Energy complex spanning parts of Aiken, Barnwell and Allendale counties. It handles nuclear materials, radioactive waste management and research through facilities including the Savannah River National Laboratory.