Photo by Whitehorse Star
ON CLEANUP DUTY – Whitehorse firefighters work earlier this month to contain the substance found in the Yukon River behind the Boston Pizza restaurant.
Source of contaminant remains a puzzle
We may never know what mystery substance was found floating in the Yukon River earlier this month.
We may never know what mystery substance was found floating in the Yukon River earlier this month.
Environment Yukon says there was "insufficient contaminant in the sample” to identify the substance found in the water or where it came from.
Officials were originally alerted to the problem on Aug. 12, after the substance was seen in the water near the Boston Pizza restaurant.
It was originally reported by Environment Yukon and local officials that the substance was seen coming from the ground and seeping into the water.
However, according to Environment Yukon spokesperson Nancy Campbell, what was seen was a sheen on the water, not anything coming from the ground.
"A sheen can be as little as one molecule thick,” Campbell said today.
This new information also contradicts the information given by federal officials following the discovery.
In an e-mail to the Star following the discovery, Environment Canada, which originally led the investigation, repeatedly called the situation a "leak” or a "spill”, and went as far to suggest it had leads as to what may have caused it.
"It has yet to be confirmed, but the source of the leak may be the result of ongoing work at a decommissioned gas station located approximately 150 meters away from the spill site in the Yukon River,” the e-mail said at the time.
"When work crews stopped working at the gas station site, the leak also stopped into the river.”
The e-mail continued: "The material entered the fish-bearing waters of the Yukon River and was originally reported as a ‘heavy sheen.'”
Environment Canada went as far to suggest that the substance was diesel fuel based on its smell.
The day following that e-mail, the investigation was handed off to Environment Yukon as part of a mutual agreement between the two organizations.
Campbell said she was not sure how the miscommunication regarding what exactly was seen at the site happened.
"We'll try and make sure the communications are sorted out better next time,” she said.
The booms placed at the site since the discovery were removed last week and there is no trace of the substance in the water now, Campbell said.
By ASHLEY JOANNOU
Star Reporter
Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar
In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.
Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.
Comments (2)
Up 0 Down 0
JC on Aug 30, 2011 at 8:43 am
All these government agencies and high paid workers and still can't explain a little leak. Maybe somebody upstream just p'd in the water. Did anybody ever think of that? Well, at least its an idea which is what those high paid experts couldn't provide. And, now its gone.
Up 0 Down 0
Buzz Lightyear on Aug 30, 2011 at 7:47 am
I'm no rocket scientist but that crater across the street from BP used to be a gas station. In the past few weeks there has been a lot of activity on that site moving dirt etc.
Connect the dots.