What happened

Operator error during a manual fuel transfer caused an internal day tank at Maani Ulujuk Ilinniarvik High School to overflow from the afternoon of 16 April until staff discovered it the next morning. Approximately 18,400 litres of diesel ran through a floor drain, the municipal utilidor, a lift station and the wastewater-treatment plant before discharging into Prairie Bay and Hudson Bay. Recovery from the bay was constrained by thick ice and strong tides. In April 2022, the Government of Nunavut pleaded guilty to a federal storage-tank regulation offence and was fined C$100,000; the court also ordered system reviews, mitigation reporting and public disclosure. The territory subsequently installed safeguards intended to prevent another overfill.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.