Ontario introduced a proposal intended to toughen air pollution standards in heavily industrialized areas of the province, including Sarnia’s Chemical Valley, but critics say it falls short of providing any meaningful action.
The Ontario Environment Ministry said Thursday that new legislation would consider the cumulative effects of air pollution in a geographical region, rather than just focusing on an individual facility’s emissions.
READ MORE: Ontario enviro watchdog slams province for ‘outrageous’ pollution in Indigenous communities
“Clean air is critical for human health and the health of our environment, which is why our government is committed to taking action to address all sources of air contaminants,” Environment Minister Chris Ballard said in a statement.
The proposal would affect facilities that are new or expanding in Sarnia and Hamilton and could be expanded to include other areas and other chemicals, the ministry said. The ministry posted the proposal on the Environmental Registry for a 90-day comment period.
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Critics say the proposed legislation doesn’t go far enough and won’t protect communities surrounded by heavy polluters.
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“This proposal is extremely disappointing to say the least,” said Kaitlyn Mitchell, a lawyer from environmental advocacy group Ecojustice.
“Focusing on benzene alone in an area like Sarnia is completely inadequate and ignores the cocktail of air contaminants to which residents and workers are exposed on a daily basis,” Mitchell said.
Thursday’s announcement follows a joint investigation by Global News, the Toronto Star, National Observer, the Michener Awards Foundation and journalism schools at Ryerson and Concordia universities. It exposed a troubling pattern of potentially toxic spills and leaks in the area known as Chemical Valley, which is home to 57 industrial polluters registered with the Canadian and U.S. governments.
WATCH: ‘We expected cancer’: Are industrial spills in Canada’s ‘Chemical Valley’ making people sick?
The investigation also raised questions about whether companies and the provincial government are properly warning residents of Sarnia and the Aamjiwnaang First Nation community when potentially toxic substances are leaked.
Aamjiwnaang resident Ada Lockridge said the province’s proposal is frustrating and it feels like the province has forgotten her community.
“It’s like we don’t matter here,” Lockridge told Global News. “They are only looking at the one chemical, Benzene. Cumulative effects to me is looking at all the chemical sets inside the valley.”
Lockridge has fought since 2009 for the environment ministry to review how it regulates the cumulative effects of air pollution in the Sarnia region. Lockridge and Ecojustice sued the government earlier this year for delays in completing the review.
“There is no change here at all,” she told Global News. “After eight years of them thinking about this and that’s all they came up with?”
READ MORE: Ontario government commits to fund health study after ‘Chemical Valley’ investigation
NDP environment critic Peter Tabuns said the proposal isn’t “going to solve the problems that people are facing living in Chemical Valley.”
“If you have 100 plants all meeting the emissions standard from their plant and the cumulative impact is it makes people sick then you haven’t done anything useful.”
Chemical plant evacuated after possible leak
The proposal comes just a day after the Nova Chemicals site in St. Clair township, south of Sarnia, evacuated its workers after a possible hydrogen sulphide leak Wednesday afternoon.
“We just got evacuated from site. Big leak, all I know so far,” said a plant worker who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job.
Staff were told to leave the plant at about 4:45 p.m., according to the source. Hydrogen sulphide, also known as sour gas, has a rotten-egg odour and if the concentrations are high enough it can cause paralysis and even death.
An alert was issued by the Aamjiwnaang First Nations community at about 5 p.m. following the possible hydrogen sulphide spill. The City of Sarnia did not notify residents.
A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, which must legally be told about any chemical spills, said the Ministry is investigating why the company didn’t notify the government of the incident immediately.
“We are communicating to Nova that it is our expectation that in incidents like this they do notify us,” a ministry spokesperson told Global News.
Nova said the incident is under investigation and the company “has been in close contact with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.”
“NOVA Chemicals updated information on the CAER Industry Update Line at approximately 6:00 p.m. and notified employee and contractors at Corunna Site, along with officials at the St. Clair Township Fire Department and Aamjiwnaang First Nation Safety and Emergency Response,” the company said in a statement.
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