The emergency at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina is over. Site officials ended the Site Area Emergency at 9:45 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, October 28, after a fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory, and radiological surveys found no detectable levels of contamination, according to the site's third news release of the night. Protective actions were lifted, site barricades reopened and Highway 125 stayed open. Oncoming shift workers were told to report as usual, and all other employees to report as scheduled on Thursday, October 29.
What happened
The fire broke out Wednesday evening at the laboratory, part of the Department of Energy site near Aiken, and was put out. In its 7:30 p.m. Eastern update, the site said no contamination had been reported outside the affected building. As a precaution, officials closed the site entrances to incoming traffic, restricted rail, river and air traffic near the site, and sheltered employees in affected areas who were not part of the response.
The releases do not say what caused the fire, whether anyone was hurt or what work the laboratory was doing in that space. The site has said more information will be posted on srs.gov and its Facebook page.
What a Site Area Emergency means
South Carolina's emergency plan for the site uses graded emergency levels. An Alert can activate the state emergency operations center in West Columbia. A Site Area Emergency is a higher level. Declaring one sends state and local officers to staff traffic control points within the 10-mile emergency planning zone, which covers parts of Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties. Evacuations are ordered at the highest level, a General Emergency, though the plan allows them earlier if conditions appear likely to get worse.
The site's releases did not mention any evacuation order. During the emergency, the site told nearby residents to follow local radio and TV for any instructions from state officials.
