Ontario chemical plant to permanently close after orders to reduce benzene emissions
Ineos Styrolution announced that it will permanently shutter operations in southwestern Ontario after both the provincial and federal governments enacted new rules aimed at curbing benzene emissions at its plants.
The chemical manufacturer said Tuesday in a statement that it will cease operations in Sarnia by June 2026.
In April, Global News first reported how Aamjiwnaang First Nation residents said they had become sickened after dangerously high levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene were detected in the air. The community is located in an area known as Chemical Valley.
“The long-term prospects for the Sarnia site have worsened to the point that it is no longer an economically viable operating asset,” the company’s CEO Steve Harrington said.
Ineos said the decision to permanently cease operations was “irrespective of the current situation” after the Ontario government forced the company to temporarily shut down the facility in May. The company has previously said that it “detected no emissions exceeding the prescribed limits.”
“The economic reality is that we have made significant investments in the Sarnia site for many years to ensure safe and reliable operations,” Harrington said. “Additional large investments that are unrelated to the potential costs of restarting operations would be necessary in the near future. Such investments would be economically impractical given today’s challenging industry environment.”
Both the Ontario government and Environment Canada have implemented new regulations to limit benzene emissions over concerns for the air quality near Aamjiwnaang First Nation, which was forced to declare a state of emergency.
Ineos has previously said there are 80 full-time direct jobs and 500 indirect
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