At approximately 9:00 pm Friday evening North Bay Fire was contacted by the duty officer from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to investigate a report of a very significant radiation reading from a bin at the North Bay Landfill.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Saunders says the Fire Department reached out to the North Bay General Hospital and had a member of their nuclear medicine department bring extra radiation measuring equipment and respond with firefighters to the scene.
"North Bay Fire personnel investigated the incident and determined that gamma radiation was present but at levels that do not pose a significant danger," stated Saunders in an email.
"The area has been isolated and the landfill is operating as usual. Members of the Nuclear Safety Commission will be in North Bay on Monday to further investigate the incident."
North Bay Fire and Emergency Services is a level 2 member of the provincial hazmat team.
"We are tasked by the province to respond provincially to help manage incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological, or explosives," Saunders explained.
"We would like to thank the North Bay Hospital and specifically Melissa Davidson for their assistance."
