Heather Wright/The Independent

The Aamjiwnaang First Nation has closed buildings and moved some residents as INEOS Styrolutions begins moving benzene from its Sarnia plant.

May 1 – 15 days after high levels of benzene in the air sickened members of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation – the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, pulled the Environmental Compliance Approval for INEOS Styrolutions, shutting the plant down.

The order required the removal of all benzene storage from the site and installation of full vapour control equipment. On May 17th, the federal government mirrored those orders.

The company filed an appeal, but last month came to an agreement on removing the benzene from their tanks. The removal was to begin Wednesday, with the company saying “Modelling indicates an increased potential of emissions exceeding the new ultra-low hourly limit of 90 µg/m³ at our site between Oct. 2 and 6. Any elevated emissions are expected to be localized near the site boundary and are not expected to cause adverse effects to the local population.”

Ahead of the work, Aamjiwnaang leaders closed seven offices, including the band office and child and family services. Staff was working from home and essential staff was working from the Community Centre.

The administration also put out a call for people who lived near the fence line with the industry to evacuate to a safer area to avoid any benzene exposure. It’s unclear how many residents were leaving their homes.

The removal of the benzene also is disrupting the bussing schedule with new stops being planned for the week of work by INEOS.

“Although all expert modeling indicates that predicted emissions levels are unlikely to cause adverse effects, we fully respect the decision made by our AFN neighbors,” said the company in a news release.
INEOS has until Oct. 16 to complete the work.

The site will close in 2025.