November 16, 2007
Record year for Nunavut oil spills
Mishaps pour 225,000 litres of poisonous material in territory
CHRIS WINDEYER
One big oil mishap on Brevoort Island this past January was enough to make 2007 a record year for spills in Nunavut.
Nearly 225,000 litres of oil were spilled into Nunavut's environment last year, the highest total recorded for Nunavut since division. The figures are found in Ikummatiit, the Government of Nunavut's energy strategy, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly late last month.
A broken fuel line caused about 150,000 litres of jet fuel to seep into the tundra at the unmanned North Warning System site on Brevoort Island east of Baffin Island this past January. Robert Eno, the Government of Nunavut's director of environmental protection, said most spills aren't anywhere near that spectacular.
"You get one spill like that, your volume just goes through the roof," he said. There were about 50 spills so far this year, Eno said. Both figures include not only oil spills, but spills of other nasty material like mine tailings and sewage.
"Even small stuff. Some people phone in spills of two litres," he said.
Subtracting the Brevoort Island spill puts 2007 closer in line with the nearly 75,000 litres that were spilled in 2006 and 2004. About 55,000 litres were spilled in 2006, although the trend in Nunavut since division is upwards.
But Eno said the amount of spills was worse in the mid-1970s and early 1980s.
Most of the spills are caused by equipment failure, operator error or poor maintenance at homes and businesses, Eno said.
"We get a lot of leaks and domestic fuel tanks and broken lines and stuff that was highly preventable," he said.
To help staunch the flow of oil leaks, the Environment Department is working on guidelines to help homeowners inspect their fuel tanks for damage. The idea is to help homeowners avoid the potentially enormous cost of cleaning up oil spills.
Bigger spills are usually caused by equipment failures or accidents and for that reason are harder to prevent.
