by WILL FOLKS
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Officials with the U.S. Department of Energy declared a site emergency at South Carolina’s Savannah River Site (SRS) on Wednesday afternoon (October 28, 2026) – one which initial reports suggested involved an “unfiltered ground-level radiological release.”
SRS officials have not confirmed the release of any radiological material, but statements from the site point to at least some degree of on-site contamination.
“An event is in progress that has triggered emergency response activities at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site,” a brief warning statement issued by the agency at 6:21 p.m. EDT noted.
“At this time, there is no indication of a consequence beyond the Savannah River Site boundaries,” the statement continued.
The site emergency was declared at 5:39 p.m. EDT, according to a subsequent notice from the facility. That notice revealed that “a fire was reported at the Savannah River National Laboratory,” one officials said “has since been extinguished.”
“No contamination has been reported outside the affected facility,” the statement added.
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“As a precaution, barricades at site entrances have been closed to incoming traffic,” the second statement continued. “Rail, river, and air traffic in the vicinity of SRS is also being restricted. SRS officials are directing response efforts and have notified the appropriate state and local government agencies.”
The incident also resulted in a partial lockdown of the sprawling facility – which covers 198,344 acres and includes parts of Aiken, Allendale and Barnwell counties.
“In areas at SRS affected by the incident, employees who are not involved in emergency response or shutdown operations have been sheltered as a precaution,” the statement noted.
That lockdown was reportedly lifted within an hour of the emergency notice being issued, however.
This is a developing story… please check back for updates.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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