Something stinks at Corner Brook's new hospital

Elizabeth Whitten · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 14, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 14

For months a foul odour has lingered adjacent some the main and exigency entrances of Corner Brook's caller Western Memorial Regional Hospital, but a Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services typical says they're moving to get to the root of the smell.

Shelby Pyke, an acting elder manager successful the wellness authority's Western zone, says h2o investigating has identified the beingness of sulfur-reducing bacteria wrong the tempest drawback basins adjacent the entrances. She says the origin of the eggy odor is apt groundwater seeping into the tempest drain strategy and not from sewage.

"We surely admit that it is unpleasant. We bash privation to guarantee the nationalist that determination is nary hazard to nationalist safety, but we bash sincerely apologize to our patients, visitors, staff, whoever has benignant of encountered this odor connected their visit," she told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.

She says the infirmary has known astir the foul odor for a fewer months, and "obviously there's rather a fewer antithetic parties progressive successful the planning. We're blessed to accidental that we've present identified some the root and the solution of the problem."

Work ahead

Pyke says they're working with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, gathering attraction and an biology advisor to hole the problem, including flushing and cleaning the tempest drain system.

"We're present co-ordinating a mechanical solution to benignant of spot each the occupation areas and code the basal origin truthful that we don't extremity up successful this concern again successful the future," said Pyke.

The caller infirmary opened successful June 2024, and CBC News reported successful February it was already overflowing, and 2 floors of the aged infirmary were going to beryllium renovated to clasp 45 much patients.

Pyke says the bacteria was capable to participate the tempest drain strategy owed to problems with the pipes.

"From what I know, without getting into excessively overmuch detail, determination are I conjecture immoderate deficiencies with the connections of the pipes," she said.

"So we person identified a mechanical solution that is going to benignant of seal those occupation areas and forestall that from happening successful the future."

Pyke doesn't cognize what fixing the occupation mightiness outgo astatine the moment, nevertheless NL Health Services doesn't anticipate having to wage those costs themselves owed to the task statement for infirmary operation and operations.

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