Oil spill in Ontario river ‘contained,’ cleanup ongoing: Suncor

An oil spill in the St. Clair River from Suncor Energy’s refinery in Sarnia, Ont., has been “contained,” the company says.

Suncor spokesperson Christine Randall told Global News Thursday that the spill occurred Wednesday evening.

“At approximately 6 p.m. yesterday, as part of its regular monitoring, the Suncor Sarnia Refinery identified a hydrocarbon sheen on the river. The outlet of the release has been identified and contained,” Randall said in a statement.

“Suncor immediately deployed its response equipment including booms and vacuum equipment on the St. Clair River. Clean up is underway, with support from Eastern Canada Response Corporation.”

A sheen is a shiny or iridescent appearance on the surface of the water that can be caused by petroleum products finding their way into the water, or it can be the result of naturally occurring phenomena, a fact sheet from the B.C. government reads.

Most sheens caused by pollution are the result of petroleum products entering the environment; nearly all petroleum products that are spilled in water will eventually form a sheen, the fact sheet states.

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“The formation and appearance of this sheen will vary depending on the properties of the spilled material and weather conditions. Refined products such as gasoline and diesel fuel will spread quickly and generally only form rainbow colours that blend into a sheen,” it says.

“Crude oil sheens are black-brown in colour and as it interacts with the environment may take on a brown-orange colour that can be easily mistaken for red algae blooms.”

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Randall said all appropriate regulatory agencies and local community organizations have been notified of the St. Clair River spill.

A spokesperson for Ontario’s environment ministry told Global News it does not expect any downstream impacts to the river or the municipal water system, nor is it aware of any impact to wildlife.

Suncor’s Sarnia facility – a 70-year-old operation located along the St. Clair River in Sarnia-Lambton – is an 85,000-barrel-per-day operation that produces gasoline, kerosene, jet and diesel fuels, asphalt and petrochemical feedstock, its website states.

Refined products are delivered to distribution terminals in Ontario through the Sun-Canadian Pipeline or delivered to customers directly through marine vessels and rail. The Sarnia refinery also has limited access to pipelines delivering refined products into the U.S., Suncor states.