A fire broke out on the 28th (local time) at a federal nuclear laboratory in South Carolina, U.S. media outlets including CNN reported.

According to reports, an emergency was declared at the nuclear complex at 5:39 p.m. that day after a report of a fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory within the Savannah River Site, located southeast of Augusta.

Officials at the nuclear complex announced that the firefighting operations have been concluded, one person sustained minor injuries, and no radioactive contaminants were detected outside the facility.

Following the outbreak of the fire, employees were urgently evacuated, and surrounding air, rail, and river traffic were restricted.

The emergency status was lifted at 9:45 p.m.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

The Savannah River Site, operated by the U.S. Department of Energy, is a facility established in the 1950s to produce tritium and plutonium, which are materials for nuclear weapons.

Five nuclear reactors began operation between 1953 and 1955.

Following the end of the Cold War, it has primarily been tasked with processing radioactive liquid waste, managing nuclear materials, and purifying surface and groundwater.

It remains the sole supplier of tritium in the U.S. and serves as a central facility in the U.S. government's plans to revive mass production of nuclear warheads.

Approximately 13,000 civilians and federal employees work at the site.

The Savannah River National Laboratory, where the fire occurred, opened in 1951 as a research facility supporting the nuclear complex and was designated as a national laboratory in 2004.

It conducts research in national security fields such as nuclear waste treatment, environmental remediation technology, and nuclear non-proliferation.

(Photo provided by Savannah River Site website, Yonhap News)