AIKEN, S.C. — A fire caused an emergency response at a nuclear facility near the Georgia state line in South Carolina Tuesday night, but the emergency is now over.
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A Site Area Emergency was declared at Savannah River Site because of a fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory, near Aiken, South Carolina. The fire was extinguished.
In an update at around 10 p.m., Savannah River Site said the emergency was lifted at around 9:45 p.m. after radiological surveys found “no detectable levels of contamination.”
The emergency was declared at around 5:07 p.m. Earlier, Savannah River Site had said the emergency was declared at 5:39 p.m.
Workers are expected to report to work at the facility as usual, Savannah River Site said.
A temporary flight restriction has been placed over the site until Friday at 4 a.m. for “U.S. Gov’t Nuclear Incident,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The flight restriction includes a section of eastern Georgia near Waynesboro.
During the emergency, workers at the facility in areas affected by the incident sheltered in place as a precaution.
The Savannah River National Laboratory is one of 17 U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories.
The Savannah River Site includes a plutonium processing facility and a disposal site for spent nuclear fuel.
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