It's not the dump of white powder most North Shore residents get excited about.
Police are investigating after a hiker spotted eight suspicious "small drums" tossed in a wooded area a few metres off of the 4000-block of Indian River Drive on Friday evening.
The hiker called North Vancouver RCMP, who called in District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and North Vancouver City Fire Department, which has a team of hazardous material experts.
"Some were sealed and the one that was open had what appeared to be a white powdery substance," said assistant fire chief Mike Cairns.
One of the canisters was labelled with the name of a chemical associated with methamphetamine production, Cairns said, but police say it's too soon to jump to any conclusions.
"At this point, we don't know what they are. They've been taken away by our crime lab unit to an undisclosed location for forensic examination to determine what the powder is. At this point, it's very preliminary," said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. "It could be leftovers from a chemical lab from another community. It could be from an industrial application and someone was disposing of them. Until we know what it is, we're not speculating."
So far, there are no persons of interest, De Jong said. After checking the area over, firefighters don't believe there's any environmental risk posed by the clandestine dump, Cairns said.
"The containers weren't damaged or leaking so there didn't appear to be any contamination of the area. It was all contained in the vessels," he said.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about stashed chemicals to step forward.
"If someone saw anybody drop these off or knows why they were placed there, call CrimeStoppers or our local number (at 604-985-1311)," De Jong said.
