Cleanup of the historic oil spill in Inuvik underway; sources still anonymous

Key takeaways: 

• The prior week found an oil sheen along the Mackenzie River in Inuvik.
• Years back, a spill was seen around the Northwest Territories Power Corporation property in Inuvik, N.W.T. 

There’s a varicolored shine on the wet pavement around the foot of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation property along the Mackenzie River. 

It arrives from a historic oil spill that was only found last week. Now, it’s being organized and cleaned up.

Doug Prendergast, the communications manager for the Northwest Territories Power Corp. (NTPC), stated the firm was swift to act. As soon as proof of a spill was seen along the river by River Road and notified via the N.W.T. 24-Hour Spill Report Line on July 21, a crew was sent to deal with it.

“We were made conscious of it; we sent to people to take a look. They assured that there was an oil sheen,” Prendergast said.

“Nevertheless of where it came from because right at the start, there was no sense of what the source was; we understood there hadn’t been an active spill.”

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Prendergast stated that the precise source of the spill is unclear.

While there are other properties in the space, he said the power corporation chose to take the lead on cleanup because the firm’s workers are trained in spill reply and have the required equipment.

Lately, a large yellow bucket labeled “spill kit” was set up nearby, along with what were earlier white absorbent pads. Several absorbent hydrocarbon booms were also installed, while sandbags have been made near what seems to be the worst of the sheen. 

The sandbags may also assist in analyzing the source of the old spill. Prendergast said the oil likely came from an old pipe used to empty oil from barges in the 1970s and ’80s.

Source – CBC News