A file photo shows the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. (The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A fire at a laboratory inside South Carolina’s sprawling Department of Energy nuclear complex prompted an emergency declaration Wednesday and sent one employee to the hospital with minor injuries, officials said.
The Savannah River Site declared a Site Area Emergency at 5:39 p.m. after the blaze erupted at the Savannah River National Laboratory near Aiken, according to the Department of Energy.
Officials put out the fire, and one employee was transported to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, a DOE spokesperson told Fox News.
“No radiological contamination has been reported,” the spokesperson said.
A boat travels the Savannah River in Savannah, Ga. (Amy Galo)
An SRS notification later said there were “currently no operational emergencies or scheduled delays” at the site.
Officials had temporarily blocked entrances as a precaution, but vehicle traffic resumed, according to the Savannah River Site.
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Employees working shifts who had been instructed to shelter in place were also cleared to resume normal duties.
Earlier, the site had announced restrictions affecting rail, river and air traffic in the surrounding area.
SRS officials are coordinating the response, while relevant state and local agencies have been notified.
Residents in nearby communities were urged to follow local radio and television coverage for further updates and instructions from state authorities.
U.S. Department of Energy headquarters at the James V. Forrestal Building in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2026. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
The Savannah River Site is a major part of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex and has supported the U.S. military’s strategic deterrence mission for more than 75 years, according to the facility’s website.
The installation handles nuclear materials and radioactive waste, while its cleanup programs are intended to safeguard the surrounding environment, the Department of Energy said.
“While serving as one of the nation’s most critical pieces in the weapons complex, the site is also one of the safest major industrial sites in the world. Ensuring national security, protecting workers, the public, and the environment, are our highest goals,” the SRS website states.
Built in the 1950s, the facility originally included five reactors designed to produce materials for nuclear weapons, chiefly tritium and plutonium-239. The complex also featured support infrastructure, including two chemical separation plants.