See also:

Fuel Spills in Northern Yukon

Fuel Spills Near the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge

Development Permits

Arctic Borderlands Ecological Knowledge Co-op

What is happening?

• These graphs show the number and quantity of spills of petroleum products (e.g. diesel fuel, gas, hydraulic oil) that occurred each year. The region covers inland areas from Tsiigehtchic to Tuktoyaktuk (including fresh water such as rivers and lakes) as well as the marine and coastal areas of the Beaufort Sea.
• Most spills have occurred inland although there were more spills associated with offshore activity in the Beaufort Sea during the 1980s.
• The large amount released in 1981 includes one spill alone that contained an estimated 798,596 litres of "Sludge/Water Mix" and may not even be petroluem based.

Why is it happening?

• Large amounts of petroleum products are transported for use by local residents as well as industry. Spills often occur during transport or during storage as a result of accidents, negligence (poor maintenance of tanks or supply lines) or operator error (overfilling storage tanks).

Why is it important?

• Spills of petroleum products can have a great impact on both marine and fresh water environments while spills on land can also cause problems when they seep into groundwater or join waterways through runnoff.

Technical Notes

• These data were obtained from the Hazardous Materials Spills Database maintained by the Environmental Protection Division of the Government of the Northwest Territories.