Fire at Savannah River Lab Prompts Emergency, Later Lifted

A fire at Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina prompted a Site Area Emergency on October 28, but officials later extinguished the blaze and lifted the alert after surveys detected no contamination outside the affected facility. Savannah River Site officials said they declared the emergency at 5:39 p.m. local time at the Department of Energy complex near Aiken. The alert ended at 9:45 p.m., after the fire was extinguished and protective measures were lifted, according to site updates. Barricades at site entrances reopened, and workers were told to resume their scheduled duties. During the response, employees not involved in emergency or shutdown operations were instructed to shelter as a precaution. Site entrances were closed to incoming traffic, and rail, river and air traffic nearby was restricted. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a temporary flight restriction, describing the event as a U.S. government nuclear incident. Highway 125 remained open. Site officials told local broadcaster WRDW that the fire involved an unfiltered, ground-level radiological release. Early reports did not specify the material or quantity involved, and the cause of the...