Cleanup work on Resolute spill yet to begin

Cleanup has yet to begin on a gasoline spill which leaked about 87,000 litres of fuel in Resolute, Nunavut, last week.

A large berm has contained the spill, so itdoes not appear to havespread beyond the tank farm. The spilled gasoline has leaked deep into the snow and has left a brownish yellow residue on the surface.

Resolute mayor Tabitha Mullin says the hamlet's been told staff from Environment Canada have been called in. She says the community has done what it can for the spill.

"I suppose they'll be coming in to see what further clean-up they can do or what else needs to be done."

The government of Nunavut has hired a contractor to do the cleanup, which could take up to two weeks.

As of Tuesday, cleanup crews had not yet reached the community.

Rob Eno, Nunavut's director of the environmental protection division, arrived in the community Tuesday.

"All tank farms are required to have a bermed area with a liner underneath so that in the event of a tank failure the product won't seem into the ground but instead it will collect on top of that liner," he said.

Eno says he will see if any of the fuel spilled outside the liner.

Hell be joined by two representatives from Environment Canada.

Resolute has had blowing snow andtheres only a couple of hours of daylight during which work can be done.

Theres still no word on what caused the spill.

The RCMP have said some valves at the tank farm may have been left open, but they couldnt say whether it was done intentionally.

Police continue to investigate.

Minister of Community and Government Services Lorne Kusugak says 20 to 25 per cent of the community's annual fuel supply was lost.

But Kusugak says no fuel shortages are predicted.

"At the end of the day, we may not need to replace the gasoline. You purchase more than you need usually so this amount that's spilled right now, looking at the calculations it looks like they should be able to go through the winter season and then have enough until the next ship comes in."

Kusugak says they won't know how much the clean-up will cost until it's complete.