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OTTAWA -- City staff say low levels of radioactive matter have been detected in material from one of the city's waste water treatment facilities.
Deputy city manager Nancy Schepers sent a memo to councillors yesterday saying two of three loads of material taken from the R.O. Pickard Environmental Centre on Jan. 29 were turned away at the Canada-U.S. border after radioactive material was detected. Yesterday, two more loads also tested positive for radioactivity.
"This material has been returned to the Pickard Centre," said Schepers. "We are currently having other biosolid materials from ROPEC tested to obtain a better understanding of the situation."
Last night, Schepers updated councillors in another memo, saying "the hazmat team using their testing equipment was not able to detect radiation above background levels in the two loads of biosolids quarantined at the Pickard Centre."
The material that was turned away at the border is being temporarily stored at Third High Farms transfer site in Iroquois. Third High Farms is the contractor hired by the city to remove biosolids from ROPEC.
The contaminated material found yesterday is being stored at ROPEC, which has limited storage capacity.
City officials said this is the first time radioactive material has been found at the site.
Schepers also reassured councillors that the city's water supply has not been affected by the contamination.
"I can assure you that our drinking water continues to be very safe," she said.
HAZMAT TEAM ON SITE
December and January water testing results for radioactivity "have been reviewed and do not indicate any change from the very low levels normally detected. This review confirms that drinking water continues to be safe and is not the source of contamination."
A City of Ottawa hazmat team was on site to do an initial assessment of contamination levels and help determine if immediate changes to the treatment process in the plant are necessary until further testing is completed.
"Existing loads of biosolids that showed low levels of radioactivity have been quarantined," Schepers said.
A consultant is en route from Toronto to assess contamination levels, including flows into the Ottawa River.
The consultant will meet with city officials today at 7:30 a.m.
Dixon Weir, the city's director of water and waste water services, said a full investigation to find out the source of contamination is under way but couldn't provide any further details.
Weir speculated radioactive material could have been dumped into the city's system and said officials should have a better idea of the source by the end of the week.
He did say testing inside the plant showed only background levels of radioactivity. Background radioactivity is found almost everywhere in the environment and its presence is considered normal.
Weir said the provincial environment ministry has been notified.
He said the city has also been in direct contact with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and also said the material found is not related to a leak in December at the 51-year-old Chalk River nuclear facility.