Bed bugs found at OC Transpo buildings on St. Laurent and Belfast
Posted Mar 5, 2020 06:29:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The City of Ottawa is treating two OC Transpo buildings for bed bugs.
In a letter from Director of Transit Operations Troy Charter, he explains that a staff member found a bed bug at OC Transpo’s main administration building at 1500 St. Laurent Blvd., Wednesday afternoon.
A pest management company was brought in immediately to investigate the entire building, as well as transit buildings in the immediate vicinity. Ottawa Public Health was also contacted and are providing guidance in the incident.
Charter says an investigation took place Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and they found bed bugs in specific areas on the second and third floors of the administration building, as well as in one specific area at 875 Belfast Rd. There was no evidence of bed bugs on the other floors of the administration building or in the Transit Operations Control Centre.
Employees who normally work in the St. Laurent Boulevard and Belfast Road locations have been asked to work from alternate or remote locations for the time being.
Treatment of 1500 St. Laurent Blvd. and a contained area at 875 Belfast Rd. began at 1 p.m., Thursday.
The treatment is expected to be finished by Saturday afternoon. Charter's letter explains that air quality testing will take place before the affected areas are re-opened.
Following treatment, there will be monitoring and follow-up activities to ensure that the treatment process has been successful.
OC Transpo says bus and train services continue to run as scheduled. Charter says OC Transpo conducts daily cleaning of its buses and trains and any issues identified are addressed before the vehicle is returned to service.
