Federal officials declared an emergency Wednesday evening after a fire ignited at a national lab in South Carolina that used to make crucial parts for nuclear bombs.
The Department of Energy said the fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory was extinguished by Wednesday night and the lab returned to normal operations.
Officials said no detectable levels of contamination were found. One lab employee was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Fox News Digital reported.
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“There are currently no operational emergencies or scheduled delays for the Savannah River Site,” the facility said in an update.
The facility was once responsible for helping make nuclear bombs back to the 1950s during the early days of the Cold War, with the lab producing tritium and plutonium-239.
The Energy Department said the sprawling Savannah River Site complex is now focused on nuclear waste management and environmental cleanup.
“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 facility’s website says.
The lab still does experiments with nuclear materials and processes radioactive materials, such as radioisotope recovery from used nuclear fuel, Edwin Lyman with the Union of Concerned Scientists told The Associated Press.
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