A string of 7 radioactive contamination incidents at the Savannah River National Laboratory resulted in what officials call a “time out”. The incidents were minor, meaning readings were low and no one was injured. Facilities where radioactive materials are handled were temporarily shut down while officials went over safety guidelines with employees.

Angie French is a spokesperson for the Savannah River Lab. She says the time out was a voluntary way for officials to fine tune safety measures at the lab.

"We are able to maintain our record as the safest national laboratory in the DOE complex because when we see minor events like this we stop and look before it gets to the point where they are major events," said French.

The Savannah River Lab tests thousands of radioactive samples each year for Department of Energy projects such as nuclear waste disposal.

Tags: Augusta, nuclear, U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Site, radioactive materials, SRS, Savannah River National Laboratory, contamination, radioactive contamination, Angie French