NUNAVUT - The Canadian Coast Guard will be providing 19 communities in the territory with oil spill kits as part of efforts to prevent oil spills, but the training on how to use these kits will come at a later date.

The Canadian Coast Guard's environmental response team member Mark Jones checks on the contents of the oil spill kit, also called an "Arctic community pack," destined for Kimmirut. - photo courtesy of The Canadian Coast Guard Details on Cairn Energy project Cairn Energy is a U.K. based company, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is one of Europe's largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies. They are interested in exploring frontier basins in Greenland in the Davis Strait that borders Nunavut near Disko Island. In the summer of 2009, surveys were done to understand where prospects were, to assess if there was enough oil as well as looking at the risks of doing a drilling campaign. Exploratory drilling will be done this summer. Drilling was set to start in 2011 but the company is a year ahead of schedule. Exploration for oil off western Greenland first started due to a spike in oil prices in the early 1970s. No other oil company has drilled in Greenland waters since five exploratory wells were sunk during that decade. It is estimated by the United States Geologic Survey that Greenland's offshore reserves have the capacity to hold 50 billion barrels of oil and gas, or nearly one-third of the Arctic total.

"That's the challenge, equipment is no good unless you have people who know how to operate it," said Larry Trigatti, the coast guard's superintendent of environmental response in the central and Arctic region.

Pangnirtung, Kimmirut, Chesterfield Inlet, Baker Lake, Pond Inlet, Hall Beach, Qikiqtarjuaq, Resolute, Rankin Inlet, Clyde River, Cape Dorset, Cambridge Bay and Arctic Bay are some of the communities receiving oil spill kits to be delivered by the end of this summer's sea lift schedule.

Trigatti said some communities already had some of the tools and equipment needed in case of an oil spill while others had nothing. Those communities who had some equipment will have their kits updated.

Trigatti said 10 oil spill kits or "Arctic community packs" were sent out to various communities In the mid-1990s. They included 1,500 feet (approximately 457 metres) of boom, which Trigatti describes as a floating barrier or fence to keep the oil in a contained area or away from an area. The packs also contained a skimmer, which is used to remove oil floating on the surface of the water.

In 1995 and 1996, the coast guard updated its area planning in case of an oil spill in the Arctic. Since then, plans have been developed for each region. The regional plan is part of a national contingency plan.

Spills are becoming a concern in the Arctic as shipping and tourism traffic increases in the Northwest Passage and exploratory drilling by Cairn Energy of Scotland in the Davis Strait off the western coast of Greenland is set to start this summer.

Depending on the shoreline type near each community and any seasonal variants such as char runs or migratory birds nesting, different items will be sent out in the new oil spill kits, Trigatti said. In addition to booms and skimmers, communities could also receive shoreline and beach flush kits.

"The fact is you are still going to want to remove as much oil as possible," he said.

He describes a flush kit as being a "high pressure system which uses water as a source, letting oil float to the top." A flush kit could be used to flush the oil off a rocky shoreline and then a boom could be used to contain the oil.

The coast guard will be running a training exercise in Resolute this summer as part of Operation Nanook. Trigatti said there will be classroom and outdoor exercises as part of the training.

"It is going to test our ability to get a lot of people up to speed very quickly," he said.

At this point, due to logistics and a limited amount of infrastructure, the cap on the number of participants who can attend the training is 32 people. Trigatti said a request has gone out to the hamlet of Resolute for names of individuals they think would be suitable to take the training. He added that Canadian Rangers, those involved in public works, and fire department volunteers are among those being targeted.

"People, equipment and infrastructure are the three pillars on anything you want to do, it is based on having the people trained and knowledgeable in what they are doing and having the equipment available," he said.

This leaves those in the other communities receiving the oil spill kits in the dark when it comes to how to use them. In the past, the coast guard has relied on volunteers in the various communities to teach individuals how to use the kits. Trigatti said the coast guard is in the midst of developing new training materials but it will take time and planning. He could not give an answer as to how long it would be before those materials would be ready.