The FAA temporarily closed the airspace around the Savannah River nuclear facility in Aiken, South Carolina due to a fire at the plant that released nuclear contamination at ground level. The FAA imposed a temporary flight restriction over the site, with its notice describing a “U.S. Gov’t Nuclear Incident.” Radiological surveys indicated no detectable levels of contamination.
The Savannah River Site (SRS) was built in the early 1950s to produce tritium and plutonium-239, in support of defense programs. Five reactors and a number of support facilities, including two chemical separation plants, a heavy water extraction plant, a nuclear fuel and target fabrication facility, a tritium extraction facility, and waste management facilities, were built to produce these materials.
The area has since been reopened.
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