Close X
Friday, January 10, 2025
ADVT 
National

'Incalculably small' amount of diesel visible at site of 8,000-litre B.C. spill

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Jan, 2025 05:49 PM
  • 'Incalculably small' amount of diesel visible at site of 8,000-litre B.C. spill

Aerial surveillance over an area where thousands of litres of diesel was spilled last month off Vancouver Island shows most of the fuel is no longer visible on the water.

An update from officials managing the spill says a flight over Lutes Creek near Zeballos, B.C., spotted "an incalculably small" volume of sheen in proximity to the fish farm where up to 8,000 litres spilled into the water on Dec. 14.

It says observers spotted no sheen in proximity to shorelines and minute amount "of weathered sheen" along the tide line of Esperanza Inlet.

But the statement says experts are waiting for a low tide to take samples for testing and a spokesman with B.C.'s Ministry of Environment says that data won't be available for a couple of weeks.

Human error during a fuel transfer is blamed for the spill at the Grieg Seafood fish farm and the company says in a statement that it is reviewing its policies and procedures following the spill.

The spill prompted the nearby Ehattesaht First Nation to close the Zeballos Inlet to clam harvesting. 

Environmental group Living Oceans Society said at the time of the spill that although diesel fuel evaporates fairly rapidly, it still leaves behind a residue of heavier substances that can contaminate shellfish.

A statement from the First Nation's chief and council in December said spills of this type are unacceptable and far to common, and that it would be issuing new directives to companies that handle fuel in its territory.

Tahsis Mayor Martin Davis said his community, about 20 kilometres from the spill site, has not seen fuel wash up on its shores.

MORE National ARTICLES

Cargo ship stuck for 2 weeks refloats

Cargo ship stuck for 2 weeks refloats
A ship that had been stuck in the St. Lawrence River northeast of Montreal since Christmas Eve was successfully refloated on Tuesday.  The Canadian Coast Guard says the MV Maccoa has been escorted by tugboats to a dock at Sorel-Tracy, Que. 

Cargo ship stuck for 2 weeks refloats

Trudeau travelling to Washington for former U.S. president Jimmy Carter's funeral

Trudeau travelling to Washington for former U.S. president Jimmy Carter's funeral
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office says he will attend former U.S. president Jimmy Carter's funeral in Washington, D.C. on January 9. Carter died Dec. 29 at the age of 100. He was the 39th president of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981.

Trudeau travelling to Washington for former U.S. president Jimmy Carter's funeral

Sea sponges' sneeze like people

Sea sponges' sneeze like people
Researchers have discovered sea sponges' ability to sneeze like people after a study off the B-C coast. University of Alberta professor Sally Leys says a study into the behaviour of a sea sponge nicknamed Belinda over four years found the animal doing slow-motion sneeze-like contractions lasting about a day.

Sea sponges' sneeze like people

Thousands at Fort McMurray picket lines

Thousands at Fort McMurray picket lines
The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the main sticking point is wages and that its members haven't seen a pay increase in well over a decade. School support workers encompass staffers from custodians and administration workers to tradespeople and education assistants.

Thousands at Fort McMurray picket lines

Health officials report a death in a Winnipeg hospital emergency department

Health officials report a death in a Winnipeg hospital emergency department
Health officials are investigating a death at a Winnipeg hospital. Officials at the Health Sciences Centre say a middle-aged man arrived shortly after midnight Tuesday morning at the hospital's emergency department, was triaged as a lower-acuity case and directed to the waiting room.

Health officials report a death in a Winnipeg hospital emergency department

Passenger of semi-truck taken to hospital after crash involving train near Edmonton

Passenger of semi-truck taken to hospital after crash involving train near Edmonton
Alberta RCMP say one person has been airlifted to hospital after a collision involving a CN train and a semi-truck north of Edmonton. Mounties say officers were called to the scene between Highway 44 and Township Road 570 when the train slammed into the side of the truck.

Passenger of semi-truck taken to hospital after crash involving train near Edmonton