By Staff, Agencies

Officials at the US Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site [SRS] in South Carolina lifted a Site Area Emergency late Wednesday after a fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory was extinguished and radiological surveys detected no contamination.

The emergency was officially terminated at 9:45 p.m. local time Wednesday [0145 GMT Thursday], according to a site notification.

“Protective actions have been lifted, and site barricades have reopened,” the notification stated.

Officials confirmed that the fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory had been extinguished, while radiological surveys found no detectable levels of contamination.

The emergency was initially declared at 5:39 p.m. local time Wednesday [2139 GMT] after the fire was reported at the facility, located near Aiken, South Carolina.

At the time, site officials said there was no indication that the incident had caused consequences beyond the facility’s boundaries.

The Savannah River Site is a major installation within the US nuclear weapons complex and has supported the country’s military strategic deterrence mission for more than 75 years, according to the site’s official website.