QAUSUITTUQ/RESOLUTE - Problems with Resolute's gasoline meant many vehicles and snowmobiles wouldn't start this winter - even a few hunters got stuck on the land - and the territorial government had to fly in replacement gas.

The gasoline's vapour pressure, a measure of its volatility or ability to ignite, was "slightly low," making it unsuitable for winter use, said Elissa McKinnon, spokeswoman for Nunavut's Department of Community and Government Services.

"This gasoline has been reclassified as summer grade and it will operate vehicles properly during the warmer months in the summer. It's not considered bad fuel," she said. "The low vapour pressure, in this isolated incident, does not, in any way, depreciate the general quality of the gasoline, so there will be no damage caused to vehicles or snow machines."

Martha Kalluk, the hamlet's senior administrative officer, said the community is doing better since the new gas came in.

"I believe the whole community had problems because they all used the fuel. There were a few hunters that got stuck out there due to the bad gas. Yes, there was quite a few people that were frustrated," she said.

When the community's fuel arrived last August, staff from CGS's petroleum products division tested the gasoline and found it had the adequate vapour pressure, she added. But McKinnon said they started receiving complaints about the quality of the gasoline this past December. She added they are investigating the deterioration of the vapour pressure.

"(Petroleum Products Division) staff suspect the cause of the low vapour pressure may be due to the size of the fuel tank which it is stored in," she said. "The tank is quite large in surface area and because it is a low volume of product, it can result in an increase of evaporation of the vapour pressure. "

The territorial government finished flying in 36,000 litres of winter-grade gasoline last week to sustain the community until temperatures rise, said McKinnon. She added it is stored in a separate tank designed for smaller amounts of fuel.

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