N.B. Power risked 'fatigue-related errors' at nuclear plant, regulator says
Federal commission fined utility almost $25,000 for violating rules on night-shift workers in safety positions
Federal regulators say N.B. Power violated rules designed to ensure overnight shift workers at the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant get enough sleep to reduce the risk of safety mistakes.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said, in a notice of violation, that some workers did not get the required 72-hour "recovery period" after working three consecutive night shifts at the nuclear plant.
"CNSC staff contend that the N.B. Power staff working outside the bounds of [the regulations] were not provided a sufficient opportunity for sleep and recovery from sleep debt," said the nine-page notice issued in March.
"As such, these workers were at an increased risk of experiencing high levels of fatigue and committing fatigue-related errors."
The commission fined the utility $24,760.
N.B. Power did not provide a comment on the notice to CBC News by deadline.
Green Party Leader David Coon said the revelation was alarming and suggested that the plant is short-staffed.
"You're talking about operators, emergency response personnel, security people who've been working three night-shifts straight and are then having to come back to work without having the chance to get some rest," he said.
"This is a nuclear reactor. You can't have people who are fatigued, who are tired, doing those jobs because as the regulator said … mistakes can be made and those mistakes could be very serious."
According to the March 20 violation notice, N.B. Power's operating licence for the nuclear plant requires it to implement a program so that workers in "safety-sensitive positions" can avoid fatigue.
That includes limits on hours of work and minimum recovery times.
The commission first noticed during an inspection in late 2022 that N.B. Power's shift-scheduling software allowed workers to be scheduled in violation of the regulations and that some workers had exceeded the limits.
N.B. Power told the commission it was adopting "interim corrective actions," including manual reviews of schedules, the notice said.
Follow-up inspections by the commission, in 2023 and 2024, "found continued non-compliance" with the rule requiring a 72-hour break between three or more night shifts.
There were 104 violations in 2023 and 150 in 2024, it says.
The commission wrote to N.B. Power on Jan. 7 asking it to take steps to avoid more violations. The utility responded Jan. 22 claiming that it had addressed the issues, including by requiring all staff in safety-sensitive positions to get training on the rules.
The commission followed up in February with a verification of N.B. Power staff training and found nearly 30 per cent of affected workers at Point Lepreau had not completed the training.
"This contradicted the statements made by N.B. Power in their response to the warning letter," the commission said.
The utility has taken further steps since February, including a software update that shows when the hours-of-work rules are not being followed.
The commission decided to fine N.B. Power to "help deter recurrence" of the violations, the notice said.
Coon said the $24,760 fine should be higher but said publicizing the violation should also compel the utility to be more diligent.
When the commission first spotted the scheduling problems in 2022, Point Lepreau was overseen by N.B. Power's vice-president nuclear, Brett Plummer.
CEO Lori Clark revealed in September 2023 that Plummer was leaving the position and that she was taking on the role herself.
"She said she would play the dual role of CEO and vice-president nuclear," Coon said Tuesday. "Perhaps that's not appropriate."
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