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 (WL).
Pinawa, MB – September 16, 2024 – Operations at the Whiteshell Laboratories will return to normal operations beginning today, as CNL has completed the final phase of its Multi-Phase Restart Process designed to restore routine activities at the site.
As described in previous communication bulletins, 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 and 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. Further gaps in the program were later discovered, and CNL developed a comprehensive Corrective Action Plan to ensure that operations at Whiteshell were safe and in compliance with all regulatory requirements.
Since then, CNL has completed over 160 corrective actions in the last 15 months that have strengthened its Fire Program and other Safety and Control Areas. A third-party assessment and CNL’s own internal assessments have all concluded that CNL’s Fire Program now complies with programmatic requirements, and that its Corrective Action Plan has addressed the systematic issues in its operations.
With the necessary regulatory concurrence from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), CNL now has the authority to resume all operations as permitted by the Whiteshell Laboratories site licence, including radiological and higher-risk conventional fieldwork.
CNL can confirm that no employees were injured as a result of this event, and that there were no off-site consequences to members of the public or the environment.
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Contact:
Philip Kompass
Director, Corporate Communications
1-866-886-2325
media@cnl.ca