Aamjiwnaang First Nation urges calm following state of emergency declaration
Aamjiwnaang First Nation is urging community mem‐ bers to remain calm after declaring a state of emer‐ gency Thursday.
More than a week after shuttering its office saying several people had fallen ill with symptoms including headaches, nausea and dizzi‐ ness, the First Nation declar‐ ed a state of emergency over what it calls the "ongoing and excessive" discharge of ben‐ zene it says is from a nearby industrial facility.
"Aamjiwnaang members, do not be alarmed at tonight's State of Emergency declaration. This is a formal‐ ity in a process that allows council to acquire additional resources to assist staff and members," said Chief Chris Plain in a post on Facebook.
"We do understand the seriousness of this incident and recognize the commu‐ nity concerns, as they are all of ours."
The First Nation blames INEOS Styrolution, a plastics chemical plant located in Sarnia, Ont., across the street from the First Nation's office.
Last weekend INEOS an‐ nounced it would temporarily shut down its facility for maintenance and to address a mechanical issue. The com‐ pany is facing several orders from the Ministry of Environ‐ ment related to benzene lev‐ els, including an order to have a plan by May 17 for in‐ vestigating and addressing benzene levels.
The company has been ordered to come up with a procedure by May 3 to imme‐ diately notify affected mem‐ bers of the public when ben‐ zene discharges exceed cer‐ tain thresholds.
We knew that an immedi‐ ate shutdown could result in elevated readings, likely the spikes we are currently expe‐ riencing. - Chief Chris Plain, Aamjiwnaang First Nation
CBC News has reached out to the company for com‐ ment. When it announced the temporary shutdown, the company said "ensuring the health and safety of our em‐ ployees and community is paramount."
"We knew that an immedi‐ ate shutdown could result in elevated readings, likely the spikes we are currently expe‐ riencing," Plain's post reads.
"Our staff have amazing scientists and legal advising us and will be analyzing IN‐
EOS' plan and continue to monitor for other potential source emitters and make recommendations to coun‐ cil."
The Ministry of Environ‐ ment said the order was is‐ sued to INEOS Styrolution be‐ cause of concerns about the elevated benzene levels from the plant.
A spokesperson for the ministry said it would moni‐ tor compliance and will con‐ tinue to look at additional steps and compliance actions that may be required.
"The ministry is also work‐ ing on updates to the ben‐ zene technical standards for petrochemical and petroleum facilities, and to strengthen the Environmen‐ tal Penalties Regulation so that more financial penalties can be imposed," Gary Wheeler wrote in an email to CBC News.
WATCH | Where Aamjiw‐ naang is compared to a nearby plastic chemical producer:
According to Wheeler, the hourly benzene concentra‐ tions from the monitoring station at the First Nation of‐ fice are posted in near-realtime on the public Clean Air Sarnia and Area (CASA) web‐ site, and the Aamjiwnaang First Nation Environment De‐ partment received auto‐ mated notifications of the higher concentrations of benzene in accordance with the ministry and Aamjiw‐ naang's existing protocols.
The ministry is currently reviewing notification proce‐ dures for elevated benzene levels, Wheeler said in re‐ sponse to a question about the lateness of an alert to the community, given that levels have been reportedly spiking since January.
"We are encouraged to see [INEOS Styrolution] tak‐ ing this matter seriously and will continue working with Aamjiwnaang First Nation to prioritize the health and safety of all residents," the statement reads.
Groups want permanent solution to high ben‐ zene levels
On Thursday more than 100 organizations sent a letter to Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, calling for a perma‐ nent solution to the high benzene levels affecting Aamjiwnaang First Nation.
The letter noted that as delegates from around the world are meeting in Ottawa to work toward an ambitious global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis, mem‐ bers of the organizations are concerned about the situa‐ tion in Aamjiwnaang First Na‐ tion "[which] is experiencing firsthand the dangerous im‐ pacts of pollution from plas‐ tic production."
Temporary closures of the immediate sources of ben‐ zene are the minimum re‐ quired to address benzene leaks, they wrote in the letter.
"As host of the fourth round of plastic treaty negoti‐ ations, and as a member of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) that has set a com‐ mendable goal of ending plastic pollution by 2040, Canada must act with in‐ tegrity and set an example on the global stage by taking action to address this envi‐ ronmental emergency and the environmental racism that Aamjiwnaang First Na‐ tion has experienced from benzene pollution," the letter reads.
"Failure to act puts at risk Canada's reputation and credibility both domestically and internationally as a leader to address the plastic pollution crisis."