Aamjiwnaang First Nation declares state of emergency declared over benzene levels

Aamjiwnaang First Nation in southwestern Ontario has declared a state of emergency over what it calls the "ongoing and ex‐ cessive" discharge of ben‐ zene from a nearby indus‐ trial facility.

The declaration was made in a letter released Thursday evening.

"While declaring a local state of emergency is a seri‐ ous measure, Aamjiwnaang is doing so in order to assist in our preparedness and en‐ sure we have adequate re‐ sources at our disposal in the event that further action is required," the letter states.

The letter didn't mention a requirement for commu‐ nity members to leave their homes, but included a con‐ tact number for those in the community to call if they feel unsafe in their homes and need accommodations.

Preliminary data from an air pollutant monitor in the community showed elevated levels of benzene - a carcino‐ gen associated with leukemia - in the area's air several times this week.

Aamjiwnaang's declara‐ tion comes just over a week after the community sounded the alarm about benzene emissions.

The First Nation blames INEOS Styrolution, a plastics chemical plant located in Sarnia, Ont., just across the street from the First Nation's office.

Aamjiwnaang shuttered its office last week, saying several people had fallen ill with symptoms such as headaches, nausea and dizzi‐ ness.

INEOS announced plans over the weekend to tem‐ porarily shut down its facility for maintenance and to ad‐ dress a mechanical issue. The company is facing sever‐ al orders from the Ministry of Environment related to ben‐ zene levels, including an or‐ der to have a plan by May 17 for investigating and ad‐ dressing 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.

CBC News has reached out to the company for com‐ ment.

Darren Henry, an elected councillor for Aamjiwnaang, said earlier this week that the community needs real an‐ swers.

He said the recent events have been "abhorrent" for the First Nation.

"Let's find out what hap‐ pened, where, why it hap‐ pened, let's be assured that the proper equipment is put in place and proper proce‐ dures, so when they start up again they won't cause that impact to our community, or any other," he said.