Company sanctioned for benzene emissions near Ontario First Nation considers appealing shutdown

The company at the centre of a controversy over ben‐ zene levels in Sarnia, Ont., said last week it may ap‐ peal a decision to close the facility, even as the nearby First Nation closed its of‐ fice again Monday citing high benzene levels.

INEOS Styrolution, the plastics chemical company located near the Aamjiw‐ naang First Nation band of‐ fice, says its air monitoring data show no emissions ex‐ ceeding limits of benzene in April.

However, the company's air monitoring and alert sys‐ tem notified the public on Monday that elevated emis‐ sions, meeting the threshold for a public alert, had been detected. In a statement Monday, the Ministry of Envi‐ ronment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) said it contin‐ ued to be concerned about benzene levels from INEOS.

Last week the ministry suspended the company's environmental compliance certification, effectively clos‐ ing the plant - though it had previously temporarily closed citing a maintenance issue. The May 1 order includes or‐ ders that must be in place for the facility to reopen.

The company says the timeline for the MECP orders is "unrealistic."

"Our engineers and tech‐ nical teams have raised sig‐ nificant concerns about safety and elevated emis‐ sions if the Ministry insists on the ill-informed timelines contained in its May 1, 2024, order," the company said.

INEOS is considering ap‐ pealing the order "to enable us to safely and effectively implement newly designed equipment systems on site, to meet the new emission standards, address the con‐ cerns of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and to continue to serve the wider economic needs of Canada," the com‐ pany said.

And, the company says, the closure of its Sarnia site could have economic implica‐ tions.

"The Sarnia plant is now closed, the flow of all produc‐ ts into and out of the site is currently stopped and the plant cannot be restarted un‐ til the requirements set forth in the May 1, 2024, order is satisfied," the company said in a statement. "This will likely impact the refineries that produce most of Eastern Canada's gasoline."

The plant office uses ben‐ zene to create styrene, the raw material in polystyrene, which is used to make food containers, utensils, toys and some medical devices and has about 90 employees.

INEOS did not reply to a request for comment on Monday.

First Nation sets its own closure levels

On Friday, the First Nation is‐ sued what it called its own notice of violation to both IN‐ EOS Styrolution and the MECP saying that "prescribed limits ... are not our limits and the moment benzene emissions cross that road, our Aboriginal and inherent rights are impacted."

The First Nation closed its band office and sent employ‐ ees home on April 16 after people became ill with headaches, nausea and dizzi‐ ness, all symptoms associ‐ ated with high levels of ben‐ zene. Several people told CBC News they went to hos‐ pital for treatment.

The First Nation, which did not return a request for comment Monday afternoon, continues to operate under a state of emergency. Its of‐ fices will remain closed on Tuesday.

Aamjiwnaang says it was not properly consulted on the order closing the facility before it was issued, but says it has been in contact with the company.

INEOS closure will im‐ pact 'integrated' Sarnia industry

Matthew Slotwinski, the in‐ terim CEO for the SarniaLambton Economic Partner‐ ship, says while human and environmental safety is of the "utmost importance," the temporary closure of INEOS will have an impact.

"From an economic stand‐ point, it's disappointing when the manufacturing facility is unable to operate," he said. "Due to the integrated nature of the Sarnia-Lambton en‐ ergy and chemistry cluster, this will certainly have im‐ pacts on other facilities with‐ in the local chemical chemi‐ cal industry."

Slotwinski says some oth‐ er companies send their ben‐ zene - a byproduct from their facilities - to INEOS, so they will likely move to contin‐ gency plans while the facility is shut down.

In a statement, the Min‐ istry of Environment, Conser‐ vation and Parks says it re‐ mains "concerned about ele‐ vated levels of benzene emis‐ sions from the INEOS ... facil‐ ity in Sarnia."

"Our priority is to protect human health and the envi‐ ronment, and despite several previous provincial orders re‐ quiring the company to take actions to improve their op‐ erations, levels of emissions continue to be too high," a spokesperson said in a state‐ ment, noting the suspension of the company's environ‐ mental compliance approval.

"This will ensure the facil‐ ity, which is currently shut down for maintenance, fully addresses the causes and sources of their benzene emissions before operations can resume."

Issue raised at Queen's park

Windsor-Tecumseh Conserv‐ ative MPP Andrew Dowie fielded a question from the NDP at Queen's Park on Monday about why the First Nation was not consulted about acceptable benzene levels

"Our government will not hesitate to take any further steps or compliance actions that may be required to pro‐ tect people's health and the environment," Dowie said.

"We've been it's also been working on updates to the benzene technical standards for petrochemical and petroleum facilities, which will impose tougher require‐ ments on facilities like INEOS.

We're also working to strengthen the environmen‐ tal penalties regulation so that more financial penalties can be imposed on bad ac‐ tors."