Chemical Valley producer wants time to meet benzene emissions order
Ineos Styrolution is asking the federal environment ministry for time to safely comply at its Sarnia styrene plant with a recent order limiting benzene emissions.
The Chemical Valley company said in a statement it has “expressed its concern to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) about the potential safety risks of a rushed program to destock benzene from its Sarnia site.”
Last week, Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s May 17 interim order limiting cancer-causing benzene releases at all Sarnia-area petrochemical plants was extended for up to two years.
The interim order, made under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, came weeks after elevated levels of benzene pollution were recorded around the Ineos Styrolution plant in Sarnia, which makes styrene from benzene.
Benzene, a natural component of petroleum, is the simplest organic, aromatic hydrocarbon, according to britannica.com. It is highly toxic and is a known carcinogen; exposure to it may cause leukemia.
“ECCC has ordered us to empty all benzene from our tanks,” company representative Brian Lucas said in a statement. “This is not a routine procedure and requires meticulous planning.”
“We must establish rigorous protocols, which need approval from multiple regulatory bodies.” Lucas said. “While we understand ECCC’s urgency, we are clear: safety, not speed, must be the primary consideration.”
The company said it has “respectfully requested that ECCC allow sufficient time to safely implement” steps needed to fulfil its request.
The company is also subject to provincial orders to reduce benzene emissions at the site, which has been temporarily idled.
“Ineos has always complied with the regulations of the day,” said Sarnia-Lambton Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu, an engineer who worked in the petrochemical industry before entering politics.
“I just think they need time, and they shouldn’t be punished while they’re doing their best to comply,” she said.
Ineos said benzene is a byproduct of gasoline production that is removed to make vehicle emissions safer, and the company’s facility in Sarnia specializes in converting benzene into other products.
It has pointed out in past statements that its plant is not the only source of benzene emissions in the Sarnia area.
On April 16, the Aamjiwnaang First Nation next to Sarnia called for the shutdown of the nearby Ineos Styrolution plant as an air-quality monitoring station near the band office recorded high benzene levels and residents complained of headaches, nausea and dizziness.
The First Nation later declared a local state of emergency due to what it described as “ongoing and excessive” discharges of benzene.
On May 1, Ontario’s Environment Ministry said it was suspending Ineos Styrolution’s environmental compliance approval amid continuing high benzene levels,despite previous provincial orders for corrective action.
The suspension keeps the already temporarily-closed plant idle until it removes all benzene storage, repairs leaky equipment, installs vapour control measures and comes up with a comprehensive benzene monitoring and community notification plan, the Ontario ministry said.
Ineos Styrolution has appealed the suspension.
“The company remains committed to the health and safety of the community and its employees and “has always operated within emissions limits set by” Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), the company said.
“Despite significant investments to comply with increasingly stringent emissions limits, the Sarnia site is currently closed due to a sudden and without warning 90% reduction in permissible emissions by MECP,” Ineos said.
It added the Sarnia site will remain closed until it can “be sure to meet the dramatically reduced limits.”
Recognizing the potential for emissions during tank cleaning, the company said it has agreed with the Ontario ministry to delay that activity until after the Aamjiwnaang annual Pow Wow set for June 22 and 23.
“We made this decision to be considerate of the AFN (Aamjiwnaang First Nation) community and avoid any possible interruptions or safety concerns during their event,” Lucas said. “We are asking ECCC to grant the same consideration.”
Gladu said she believes it was “arbitrarily by the provincial government to put those rules in place.”
Steps the company will need to take to meet the requirements could cost “millions of dollars” and involve equipment “that you don’t just press a button for,” she said.
Gladu also expressed concern about the impact the requirements may have on the plant’s future.
“Ineos is a global company,” she said. “They can operate in any jurisdiction.”
The company faces the loss of revenue while keeping the plant idle, along with the cost of meeting new requirements “in a country that keeps changing the rules,” Gladu said.
“These are the kinds of things governments do that discourage investors,” she said.
