A major oil spill in Canada’s western Arctic would likely spread quickly towards Alaska and possibly Russia, according to research funded by the World Wildlife Fund.
“We’re definitely concerned,” said Frank Pokiak, chair of the Inuvialuit Game Council in Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. He says all aboriginal communities would be affected by a spill. “The majority of our food comes from the ocean.”
Canada is currently considering two proposals to deal with the risk of an accident in offshore drilling in the Arctic. Current rules require companies to have a second drill rig nearby to quickly sink a pressure-relieving well in the case of a blowout.
Imperial Oil and Chevron Canada are proposing other methods they say would be equally effective and much cheaper.
Another report prepared for the Northern Planning Commission (NPC) and released earlier this month (July), found there has been little scientific study carried out on how an oil spill would react in Arctic ice and snow conditions,
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