The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed temporary flight restrictions over the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina, on Wednesday, October 28, following a fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory. The FAA notice characterized the event as a “U.S. Gov’t Nuclear Incident.” Officials declared a Site Area Emergency at 5:39 p.m. According to a statement from the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, the fire was successfully extinguished, and no contamination was detected outside the affected facility. Reports from WRDW indicated that the fire was contained to a single room and resulted in an unfiltered ground-level radiological release. In response to the emergency, authorities implemented restrictions on air, rail, and river traffic in the vicinity of the site. Site entrances were closed to incoming traffic as a precautionary measure, and employees in the affected areas who were not participating in emergency response or shutdown operations were instructed to shelter in place. Officials have advised nearby residents to monitor local broadcasts for further instructions from state authorities.
Article source: Cedar News | Image credit: Cedar News