Fire at nuclear laboratory in South Carolina generates emergency, but no contamination is detected

A fire in a laboratory at a large nuclear complex in Aiken, South Carolina, caused a four-hour emergency and left one employee injured. The alert was closed, according to Fox News, and radiological surveys did not indicate detectable levels of contamination.

The information was presented by correspondent Steve Harrigan, from Fox News, in a live connection. According to the broadcaster, the incident caused a huge scare, but the "all clear" has already been given at the scene.

What happened

According to the report, the fire started in a room in one of the complex's laboratories. Employees had to shelter in place for around 30 minutes. The station's presenter reported that one person was injured.

There was also concern about traffic in the region. According to Fox News, restrictions were imposed not only on trains and cars, but also on planes flying over the area. This morning, according to the correspondent, everything is back to normal, including the reporting of work shifts.

Size of the complex

The site is a U.S. Department of Energy site and one of the country's 17 national laboratories. According to the report, the area exceeds 300 square miles (about 777 square kilometers) and employs 13 thousand people.

For the investor

The transcript does not provide information on the impact on asset prices, energy sector companies or markets. There are also no details about the cause of the fire or the extent of the material damage or the health status of the injured employee.

For the investor, the episode works above all as a reminder of the sensitivity of nuclear installations, in which any occurrence triggers safety protocols and movement restrictions. In this case, according to Fox News, the response was quick and operations were normalized on the same day.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.