The following information bulletin is in accordance with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ (CNL) ongoing commitment to voluntary public disclosure of events related to the Whiteshell Laboratories site.
Whiteshell, October 20, 2023 – CNL has been notified that it has received an administrative monetary penalty from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) as a result of non-compliances in its Fire Protection program at the Whiteshell Laboratories site.
In April 2023, CNL reported to the CNSC that a self-assessment of the Whiteshell Fire Protection Program had identified gaps in fire responder training qualifications. In response to the findings, CNL took immediate action to pause all non-essential work at the site and to redeploy fire responders and equipment from the Chalk River Laboratories site to Whiteshell to ensure effective site fire protection.
After the non-compliances were identified, CNL completed a series of internal reviews that examined the entire Fire Protection program. A number of corrective actions and long-term improvement measures were determined through this process, which CNL began implementing. However, as a result of a CNSC inspection in August 2023 that identified further gaps in the Fire Protection program, the CNSC issued the administrative monetary penalty in October 2023.
“CNL fully accepts the CNSC’s decision to issue this penalty,” said Joe McBrearty, CNL President and CEO. “Our leadership team takes full responsibility for this situation. These non-compliances – found and reported through a self-assessment – are unacceptable and fall short of our high standards.”
CNL is continuing to conduct thorough reviews of the Fire Protection program and is working on completing all corrective actions. A graduated return to routine operations is expected to begin in the coming weeks.
“It is CNL’s mission to operate all our sites with an unwavering commitment to safety and environmental protection,” said Mr. McBrearty. “We are using this incident as a learning opportunity to ensure that all of our programs meet the expectations of the regulator, the communities near our sites, and the Indigenous nations that are stewards of the land on which we work.”
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CNL Contact:
Philip Kompass
Director, Corporate Communications
1-866-886-2325
[email protected]