Fire safety at Pinawa’s former nuclear site remains a concern for national oversight agency

Canada’s nuclear watchdog continues to flag fire-safety issues at Whiteshell Laboratories, but recently granted a three-year-contract extension to the organization tapped to decommission the former nuclear site.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s 2024 regulatory oversight report rated the Pinawa lab site as “below expectations” for emergency management and fire-protection standards, and human resource management connected to its firefighting complement.

This comes after operations at the site were halted and a multi-phase restart plan was launched in 2023 following an internal review that revealed deficiencies in these areas.

The report, released last week, says inspectors “observed improvements regarding staffing,” but “further improvement is needed” for personnel training because “gaps continue to be observed.”

The 11,000-acre site, located roughly 110 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, is being decommissioned and is home to two inactive nuclear reactors. It hosts several research and support facilities and a waste-management area containing low-, intermediate- and high-level radioactive waste.

Federal inspectors visited the sites eight times in 2024 and issued 21 non-compliance notices, including seven connected to emergency management and fire-protection standards, the report says.

Issues included deficiencies with fire-protection program audits; a lack of additional fire brigade members available on standby; and the absence of a fire hazard assessment for nuclear materials contained within a concrete canister storage facility

The reviews also found emergency response plans were not being maintained as required, and housekeeping practices were not being effectively implemented to “minimize the probability and consequences of fires.”

Three other non-compliance notices were related to training deficiencies for firefighters and the “training program for the Emergency Operations Centre Commander role,” the report says.

Federal inspectors will “maintain increased regulatory scrutiny” on the Whiteshell training program, including through semi-annual meetings and by introducing enhanced training inspections, it says.

Whiteshell Laboratories was found to have satisfied inspection standards in 12 other categories, including environmental protection, waste management and radiation protection.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, the organization licensed to decommission the site, was granted a three year contract extension last October. The new contract will begin Jan. 1 and end in late 2027.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca