Hydro-Québec reveals test results after Nunavik diesel spill

Clean-up and sampling will continue to take place in Ivujivik where a diesel spill took place earlier this month at the local power plant. (FILE PHOTO)

Hydro-Québec says decontamination, monitoring and testing will continue on the site of the 14,000-litre diesel spill that took place earlier this month at its power plant in the Nunavik community of Ivujivik.

But the preliminary results from tests on algae and mussel samples taken Aug. 5 are very encouraging, Hydro-Québec said Aug. 18.

Hydro-Québec said a week ago that its inspection had shown no trace of diesel along the community’s waterfront.

“For the mussels, all of the samples show no trace of contamination,” Hydro-Québec spokesperson Christian Garneau told Nunatsiaq News in an Aug. 18 email.

Garneau said there was no trace of contamination in any of the mussel samples examined and no trace of contamination in algae samples from Novua, Kangituuq, Qaqqakallak, Quinga sites and the beach, where hunters had said they smelled diesel when the spill took place Aug. 1 into Aug. 2.

“For the algae, only one sample, shows a very low value of contamination,” he said.

Hydro-Québec must now determine the nature of this contamination, he added.

“It is highly likely that it comes from hydrocarbons that are naturally occurring in the algae tissues, rather than oil hydrocarbons from the spill. An examination of the chromatogram should confirm this. We expect the results very soon,” Garneau said.

A second round of sampling took place Aug. 11.

“We will share the results to the community as soon they are available, Garneau said.

Jonathan Epoo, Hydro-Québec’s liaison officer in Nunavik, told people in Ivujivik about the preliminary results of the sampling Aug. 17.

“Of course, we continue our decontamination and cleaning work and while maintaining ongoing communication with Nunavik organizations,” Garneau said.