Federal government orders Sarnia, Ont., petrochemical industry to fix toxic emission leaks
INEOS Styrolution is appealing provincial order that shut down chemical plant
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is ordering all petrochemical companies operating in Sarnia, Ont., to take steps to control leaks of the cancer-causing chemical benzene.
The order comes a month after elevated levels of benzene pollution were recorded around the Ineos Styrolution plant in Sarnia, which makes styrene out of benzene.
On April 16, the community recorded levels 22 times higher than what the Ontario government deems to be safe and there were multiple illnesses, including headaches, nausea and dizziness.
In a statement April 30, the company said its monitoring did not detect any pollution over its allowed limits.
The temporary order signed by Guilbeault requires any facility that has recorded excess levels of benzene between March 1, 2023, and Feb. 29, 2024, to put in place vapour control measures on benzene storage tanks.
"We've acted promptly. I would I would challenge you to try and find an instances where the federal government was so quick to act in the history of the country. I don't think you will find one," Guilbeault said in an interview with CBC Windsor.
Guilbeault says the order complements the provincial suspension put in place by the province on INEOS earlier this spring.
Responding to the company's claim that its provincially calibrated monitors did not detect elevated emissions, Guilbeault says the federal government's analysis indicates that levels are elevated. Community-based monitors in Sarnia also show elevated levels.
"The company is going to have to come to terms with that, like it won't be our science versus their their science," he said. "I have full trust in the ability of our of our scientists and our public health expert and I know that the numbers that we have are reliable numbers."
Ontario has suspended Ineos Styrolution's operating approval until major fixes are made including removing all benzene storage from the site and repairing leaky equipment.
The company has filed an appeal against the order.
With files from Chris Ensing