We are very concerned by the reports made by our neighbours at our Sarnia plant in Ontario, Canada. The Aamjiwnaang First Nation, whose Reservation borders our site, have reported suspected high levels of benzene to the media, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, and the UN.
We responded immediately to these concerns the week of April 16, 2024, including being in contact with the Aamjiwnaang First Nation and we are working with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
We constantly monitor air quality, with five state-of-the-art monitors on our Sarnia site and additional monitors throughout the surrounding area. These are official monitors, carefully calibrated within a range set by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. They monitor air quality 24/7 and send alerts by email if there are any emissions outside the approved range. They continue to operate correctly.
We have reviewed all data for the period concerned and we can confirm that our monitors recorded no emissions outside our prescribed limits.
The safety of our employees, our contractors and the local community is our highest priority. We have invested over 50 million dollars into our Sarnia site over the past five years, including 4.4 million dollars in benzene emission reduction technology and equipment.
We can confirm that no one on our site has reported feeling unwell and our site continues to be a safe place to work for our employees and contractors. We hope this will be of further reassurance to our neighbours.
We would like to reassure our neighbours that the site did not breach its emission limit set at the time. The site is currently shut down to perform maintenance and address a mechanical issue.
For further inquiries, please contact styrolutionmedia@ineos.com.