Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
After a tiny radioactive capsule went missing in the Australian outback, an expert in Canada says the likelihood of the same happening in this country is unlikely, given our strong regulations governing the handling of radioactive materials.
The capsule was reported missing on Jan. 25 after it fell off a truck while being transported along a 1,400-kilometre stretch of highway in Western Australia. Authorities in the region announced on Wednesday the capsule had been retrieved after days of searching
Here's what you need to know about the handling of radioactive devices in Canada and whether the same could happen here.
The capsule that went missing in Australia was just six millimetres in diameter and eight millimetres long. It was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed at Rio Tinto's Gudai-Darri mine in Western Australia. It contains the caesium 137 ceramic source, which emits dangerous amounts of radiation, the equivalent of receiving 10 X-rays in an hour.
Laura Boksman, senior consulting scientist at the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada, says such devices containing similarly radioactive material are common in Canada.
"We would have that sort of type of radioactive material device in all sorts of industries in Canada—in mining, in processing. You could have it in pulp and paper, you could have it in the steel industry, you can have them in bottling plants," she told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday in a phone interview. "They're very common, actually."
In order to posess or use radioactive material, individuals have to apply for a licence from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the federal regulator in charge of nuclear power and radioactive materials.
Applications must include a rundown of all the safety protocols that are planned, such as the training of the people transporting it, how the material is being packaged, what safety audits are being done on a regular basis, and what emergency plans are in place if the material gets lost or stolen.
"You have to submit a lot of information to the regulator to show that you're a committed to working safely and that your plans are adequate for what you want and plan to do with the type of radioactive material that you have," Boksman said
Licences to transport are typically granted for a period of five or 10 years, and they come with additional reporting requirements. On top of that, the CNSC also performs routine inspections.
"There are annual reports that have to be submitted. There are financial guarantees that have to be provided … so that if you go belly up and you just leave, the government has some financial compensation in order to deal with the problems of what you left behind," Boksman added. "To use radioactive material, it's very highly regulated with the CNSC."
Failure to properly handle radioactive material can result in thousands of dollars in fines, even jail time in Canada. But in Australia, the penalties are capped at A$1,000 (C$949), something that the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called "ridiculously low."
Given Canada's regulations, Boksman says it's "extremely unusual" for a radioactive source to go missing without being housed in a device or packaging.
"This sort of type of source would have been in in a gauge of some type, and they definitely don't come apart. And then when you look at the way they're transported, they have to be transported in specific packaging," Boksman said.
In 2022, there were five instances of lost or stolen sources or radiation devices, according the CNSC. Three of these cases involved the theft of portable gauge devices, two of which were recovered. In the other two cases, capsules of iodine-125 were lost in Montreal, but the CNSC classified these as Category 5 sources, or "very low risk."
Boksman says five instances of lost or stolen sources per year is "really, really quite small."
"There are thousands and thousands of shipments of radioactive material every year. We've got such a small number in proportion to the number of shipments that are out there," she said.
With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.