Chemical company considering appealing suspension order at Sarnia site

A chemical company says it’s considering appealing an Environment Ministry suspension order for its site in Sarnia.

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Ineos Styrolution in a late-Friday statement said the May 1 order from the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has a “timetable for actions (that) is simply unrealistic.

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“Our engineers and technical teams have raised significant concerns about safety and elevated emissions if the ministry insists on the ill-informed timelines contained in (the) order.”

Ineos’ statement doesn’t specify those timing requirements.

Ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler in a recent email, responding to questions, said “there is no specific deadline” for the styrene-making facility to restart.

The ministry said Wednesday it was suspended Ineos Styrolution’s environmental compliance approval (ECA) amid continuing high benzene levels despite previous provincial orders for corrective action.

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The ministry suspension keeps the already temporarily shuttered plant — Ineos announced a temporary closure April 20 for maintenance and to address a mechanical issue — idle until it removes all benzene storage, repairs leaky equipment, installs vapor control measures, and comes up with a comprehensive benzene monitoring and community notification plan, a ministry statement said.

“The company is required to complete the required actions listed in the ECA amendment and submit a start-up plan to the ministry for review before they can resume their normal operations,” but there’s no “specific deadline” for that, Wheeler said.

Benzene, a natural component of petroleum, is primarily used to make polystyrene, according to britannica.com. It is highly toxic, a known carcinogen and exposure to it may cause leukemia.

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Ineos, in its statement Friday, also warned about potential economic impacts from the site remaining closed.

“This will likely impact the refineries that produce most of eastern Canada’s gasoline,” the statement says.

“We are considering,” it adds, “whether to appeal the order from the MECP to enable us to safely and effectively implement newly designed equipment systems on site, to meet the new emission standards, address the concerns of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and to continue to serve the wider economic needs of Canada.”

The statement notes Ineos takes very seriously the safety of its employees and those who live and work nearby, adding the company has invested more than $50 million into the Sarnia site over the past five years and plans to continue with “planned improvements on benzene emissions abatement at the site, safely and effectively.”

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The statement does not address Aamjiwnaang, earlier Friday, issuing a “notice of violation” to the company and the Environment Ministry, seeking immediate remediation of “alarmingly high” benzene emissions from Ineos and alleging environmental regulators have not been enforcing air pollution control standards.

Ineos has “continuously violated Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act and (its) regulations … and (the Crown has failed to protect Aamjiwnaang First Nation from the high levels of benzene air emissions from Ineos, which has led to increased health risks to our community and potentially infringes our ability to exercise our aboriginal and treaty rights,” the 20-page document sent to Ineos and ministry officials reads.

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The Observer emailed questions to Ineos Saturday morning about the company’s statement and asking for comment about Aamjiwnaang’s notice of violation.

There was no immediate response.

The company’s statement, meanwhile, also clarified that Ineos monitors “detected no emissions exceeding the prescribed limits in the weeks before … April 16,” when Aamjiwnaang officials called for the site to be shut down amid monitors detecting benzene spikes and community members reporting headaches, nausea and dizziness.

HAS previous statement from Ineos referenced April 16 and said “we have reviewed all data for the period concerned and we can confirm that our monitors recorded no emissions outside our prescribed limits.”

Ontario’s health-based standard for benzene is 0.45 micrograms per cubic meter.

Ineos’ emissions have regularly been in double digits, according to the Aamjiwnaang report and data from cleanairsarniaandarea.com.

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