Town hall meeting in northern Ont. aims to address questions about radioactive materials

The Township of Nairn and Hyman, as well as the Township of Baldwin, hosted a town hall meeting Wednesday night to discuss the transportation of radioactive material through the area.

The Township of Nairn and Hyman, as well as the Township of Baldwin, hosted a town hall meeting Wednesday night to discuss the transportation of radioactive material through the area.

Officials with both townships were shocked to discover this summer that the province would be transferring 34,000 tonnes of naturally occurring radioactive material called niobium from the former Beaucage Mine site on Nipissing First Nation to the Agnew Lake Tailings Management Area.

"We're hearing from residents multiple times every day," said Belinda Ketchabaw, Township of Nairn and Hyman CAO.

"The biggest concern we're hearing, obviously, is this safe for our drinking water? Agnew Lake is the headwaters for the fresh water for all of our communities, right down to the Great Lakes. So that's our biggest fear."

Baldwin Mayor Vern Gorham said he's also frequently hearing from residents about the controversial plan.

“There's lots of concern -- the fear of the unknown,” Gorham said.