Skip to main content

Nuclear gauge that prompted public warning recovered, North Vancouver RCMP say

A Troxler 3430 model nuclear soil moisture density gauge is seen in an RCMP handout image. A Troxler 3430 model nuclear soil moisture density gauge is seen in an RCMP handout image.
Share

A nuclear gauge that was stolen from a parking garage in North Vancouver last week has been recovered, authorities confirmed Monday.

The theft of the device – which contains a small amount of hazardous radioactive material – prompted a public warning from North Vancouver RCMP on Wednesday.

The gauge was inside a car that was stolen from underneath a fitness centre near Marine Drive and MacKay Avenue on Feb. 13.

While the device has since been recovered from Surrey, North Vancouver RCMP told CTV News the vehicle remains missing, and no suspects have been identified.

Authorities said the vehicle is a grey 2004 Mazda 6 with licence plate VG377B. The nuclear device is a Troxler 3430 model soil moisture density gauge, used to perform a variety of measurements and tests in the construction industry and other sectors.

In their warning last week, the RCMP said the device could pose a health risk if handled carelessly.

"A person may start to experience effects from the radiation after 24 hours of exposure to a gauge that is not stored properly," the detachment wrote. "Tampering with the device can also expose a person to radiation."

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Poilievre suggests Trudeau is too weak to engage with Trump, Ford won't go there

While federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has taken aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week, calling him too 'weak' to engage with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Ontario Premier Doug Ford declined to echo the characterization in an exclusive Canadian broadcast interview set to air this Sunday on CTV's Question Period.

Why this Toronto man ran so a giant stickman could dance

Colleagues would ask Duncan McCabe if he was training for a marathon, but, really, the 32-year-old accountant was committing multiple hours of his week, for 10 months, to stylistically run on the same few streets in Toronto's west end with absolutely no race in mind. It was all for the sake of creating a seconds-long animation of a dancing stickman for Strava.

Stay Connected