Cleaning up a petroleum leak or a spill of hazardous chemicals is a difficult and dangerous business under the best conditions.

When it happens in the Yukon, the clean-up crew rarely has the luxury of the best conditions. They're more likely to be working on a lonely stretch of highway or in an isolated wilderness location, well removed from amenities like electrical power and telephone lines.

That's where Environment Canada's Spill Trailer comes in. The Spill Trailer is a compact, mobile clean-up lab, stocked with almost everything George Balmer and Stephen Arrell might need at a spill site.

Balmer, head of Environment Canada's Enforcement and Emergency Section in Whitehorse, and Environmental Inspector Arrell are sometimes the first to respond when a spill is called in to the Yukon Spill Line. The Spill Trailer helps them to respond quickly and effectively.

A compact white cube, the trailer is packed with emergency equipment, including everything from duct tape to fully encapsulated protective suits with self-contained breathing equipment. It carries a generator to provide power in remote locations and a variety of test equipment to help spill response team members determine exactly what substances they are dealing with.

The variety of substances they might encounter makes it important to travel with a full range of equipment, Stephen Arrell says. A spill might mean anything from a single rusty barrel leaking oil to a wrecked tanker truck containing caustic or poisonous chemicals.

The trailer carries an assortment of absorbent materials to mop up smaller spills, and booms, pumps, and pipe to contain or divert larger spills. It also carries patching equipment and hand tools for emergency repairs.

"A lot of the hand tools have to be made of non-ferrous materials like brass or aluminum to prevent sparks," says Arrell.

The trailer is equipped with test kits for a variety of chemicals and gasses. Balmer maintains an inventory, as up to date as possible, of hazardous substances used in the Yukon or transported through the Yukon, and tries to keep test kits for as many of those substances as possible in the Spill Trailer.

The test kits also allow team members to check a confined space for oxygen levels and combustible gasses before anyone enters it, and to monitor oxygen levels while they are working.

Among the more important things packed in the Spill Trailer is an assortment of protective suits.

"We can pick and choose from three different levels of suits, from fully encapsulated and gas-tight suits with supplied air to a variety of splash-protection suits and filter respiratory protection," says Arrell. "The level of protection is an on-site decision, and that's why you need a variety."

Choosing which suit to use is not always simple. The higher the safety level of the suit, the higher the discomfort level, says Arrell. Wearing an "A level" suit, which shuts out most substances and offers the most complete protection, is like walking around in your own little greenhouse, he says.

"Once you put it on, your body is under a lot of stress."

The trailer's equipment list includes a shelter and several lawn chairs, which are used to allow the people using protective gear to rest occasionally. Periods of rest make it possible to stay in the suit much longer, Arrell explains.

"Of course, the weather complicates everything," he adds. In warm weather, the suits are too hot and in winter you can't wear enough clothes under them to keep warm.

"Also, the suits get brittle in the cold. A lot of them aren't designed to use below zero degrees Celsius."

For the moment, Environment Canada's Spill Trailer is unique in the territory, Arrell says. The Yukon's Emergency Measures Organization has purchased an emergency response vehicle that will eventually provide similar facilities, but it needs more equipment and trained staff before it will be ready for operation.

For more information about the Spill Trailer and spill response, contact the Environmental Protection branch of Environment Canada in Whitehorse. The number for the Yukon Spill Line is (867) 667-7244.