An incident at the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) triggered an emergency response on Wednesday evening after a fire broke out in a single room at the Savannah River National Laboratory. An emergency dispatch reported an “unfiltered ground-level radiological release,” though there was no indication of consequences beyond the site’s boundaries.
News 12 was told that the incident did not pose a danger to the public outside the vast SRS complex. Multiple sources said the incident occurred shortly after 5 PM, prompting employees in the laboratory’s Area A to shelter in place behind barricades for around 30 minutes.
After some time, people were allowed to leave the area, but others were not permitted to enter. News 12 learned of the possible incident after receiving calls about traffic near the main gate off Atomic Road at around 6:15 PM.
What Is The Savannah River Site?
The Savannah River Site is a 310-square-mile US Department of Energy complex spread across Aiken, Barnwell, and Allendale counties. Its Savannah River National Laboratory conducts research involving nuclear materials, environmental cleanup, and related technologies.
Built in the early 1950s during the Cold War, the facility was originally known as the Savannah River Plant. It was established to produce materials for nuclear weapons, particularly plutonium-239 and tritium for the US nuclear arsenal.
After weapons production wound down following the Cold War, the site’s mission shifted towards environmental cleanup, nuclear material management and waste disposal. Today, it also continues tritium operations that support the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
SRS stores and processes excess plutonium and spent nuclear fuel at specialized facilities, including H-Canyon and K-Area. It also treats millions of gallons of high-level radioactive waste and solid waste left behind by decades of weapons production.
SRS Conducts Regular Emergency Drills
Emergency preparedness exercises are conducted regularly at the site. Each year, SRS carries out one graded site-level emergency preparedness drill, three Emergency Response Organization activation drills, more than 40 facility-level drills, and several tabletop exercises.
The scenarios are determined through a five-year plan designed to cover different areas and potential hazards across the site.
A 2024 exercise in K-Area simulated a radiological release after a delivery truck lost control during a simulated microburst and crashed into a Criticality Control Overpack pad. The mock incident involved simulated injuries, one simulated fatality, and protective measures for the affected area.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions personnel responded to the simulated release using personal protective equipment to assist contaminated and injured individuals, who were then transferred to off-site medical facilities.
The emergency response on Wednesday occurred at a site where crews regularly train to handle incidents involving radiological hazards.
