Sarnia's "Chemical Valley" and the surrounding area are home to 62 chemical facilities and refineries. A 2007 Ecojustice Canada report showed that industrial facilities located within 25km of Sarnia, Ontario emitted more than 131,000 tonnes of air pollution in 2005. [1]
In January 2011, the Sarnia Observer noted that "Sarnia had by far the highest levels of fine particulate matter recorded at any of the province's 40 monitoring stations, with significantly sootier air than Windsor, Hamilton, Kingston, and Chatham." [2] In September 2011, the World Health Organization reported that "[w]hile Canada ranks third in the world when it comes to air quality, Sarnia was ranked the worst city in the country, with the most particulate matter per cubic metre of air." [3] Pamela Calvert's 2006 documentary on the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, The Beloved Community, [4] states that the Aamjiwmnaang birth rate of males to females is 1 to 2, the lowest live male birth rate in Canada. [5] [6] There is also correlation between living in Sarnia and cancer rates among men — it has a 34% higher overall cancer rate than the provincial average, a lung cancer rate that is 50% higher, a mesothelioma rate five times higher, and an asbestosis rate nine times higher. [7]
However, the Sarnia Observer also stated in their January 2011 article that "Sarnia has reduced its nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide problems by 30% in the last three years" and that "Environment Minister John Wilkinson said it's the first time in the report's 39-year history pollutants have not exceeded provincial monitoring standards. That translated into a record low of three smog advisories and five smog days in 2009." [2]
A Lambton County document indicated that in 2005, up to fifty-five percent of ground level ozone and fine particulate matter emissions come from neighbouring United States facilities, which "play a significant role in air quality considerations on a regional scale." [8]
A 2019 study reviewed incidence of acute myeloid leukemia from 1992 to 2010 in industrial Ontario cities and found that parts of Sarnia had an incidence rate three times higher than the national average. [9]
On May 17, 2024, after elevated benzene levels were detected at the INEOS Styrolution fence line and the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault issued an interim order under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act that would require Sarnia’s petrochemical facilities to implement vapour control measures, “including fully closed vent systems with vapour control on certain storage tanks that store benzene.” The order applies to facilities with fence line concentrations of benzene above 29 μg/m3 measured in any of the two-week sampling periods beginning on March 1, 2023, and ending on February 29, 2024. [10]
On June 11, 2024, Ineos Styrolution announced that it would permanently close its Sarnia facility by June 2026. [11]
Water pollution is a serious concern in Sarnia. A June 2003 Ryerson University study concluded that the main source of water pollution in the St. Clair River occurs at the Sarnia Water Pollution Control Centre (WPCC) due to chemical spills and ship emissions. [12] In 2008, the city resolved to replace the aging sewer pumps that controlled the effluent. Minutes of a meeting between Mayor Mike Bradley and Sarnia City Council state that "[t]he cost of repairing the raw sewage pumps is a significant portion of purchasing a new unit. However, based on the performance of the existing units over the past 8 years, City staff prefers to look at other manufacturers for replacing the existing Fairbanks-Morse pumps as they require their second rebuilding." [13] In 2010, the water distribution report indicated that "no filter effluent turbidity exceeded the prescribed test result for adverse reporting." Further, the report concluded that "[n]o inorganic or organic parameters exceeded half the standard prescribed in Schedule 2 of the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards." [14]
There were plans to bring shale gas into Chemical Valley by pipeline in mid-2013.[ needs update ] This process is divisive because it necessitates hydraulic fracturing to extract the gas, which can damage water supplies and produce long-lasting toxic deposits. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
Due to the risk of hazardous materials incidents (chemical emergencies) occurring in the industrial corridor south of Sarnia, four sirens have been placed in Sarnia south of Wellington Street, three more on the Aamjiwnaang First Nation reserve, three in Corunna, and one in Point Edward. [20] In the event of an emergency requiring immediate action by the public, the sirens are sounded for a three-minute period, serving as an alert to the public to seek shelter indoors and to tune to a local radio station for updated instructions. An emergency command centre located at the Sarnia Police Station can coordinate deployments of emergency responders during hazardous materials incidents. [21] [22]
BASES (Bluewater Association for Safety, Environment, and Sustainability) is the leading industry partner in the Sarnia-Lambton region. They also manage the Sarnia-Lambton Alerts system, a regional emergency notification tool used by local municipalities to communicate information including shelter-in-place and evacuation advisories that include emergencies from the petrochemical industry. [23]
Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words smoke and fog to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then intended to refer to what was sometimes known as pea soup fog, a familiar and serious problem in London from the 19th century to the mid-20th century, where it was commonly known as a London particular or London fog. This kind of visible air pollution is composed of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide, ozone, smoke and other particulates. Man-made smog is derived from coal combustion emissions, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, forest and agricultural fires and photochemical reactions of these emissions.
Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, where Lake Huron flows into the St. Clair River in the Southwestern Ontario region, which forms the Canada–United States border, directly across from Port Huron, Michigan.
Lambton County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is bordered on the north by Lake Huron, which is drained by the St. Clair River, the county's western border and part of the Canada-United States border. To the south is Lake Saint Clair and Chatham-Kent. Lambton County's northeastern border follows the Ausable River and Parkhill Creek north until it reaches Lake Huron at the beach community of Grand Bend. The county seat is in the Town of Plympton-Wyoming.
Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through an exhaust pipe, flue gas stack, or propelling nozzle. It often disperses downwind in a pattern called an exhaust plume.
King's Highway 402, commonly referred to as Highway 402 and historically as the Blue Water Bridge Approach, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that connects the Blue Water Bridge international crossing near Sarnia to Highway 401 in London. It is one of multiple trade links between Ontario and the Midwestern United States. It is four lanes for much of its length, though the approach to the Blue Water Bridge is six lanes.
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Suncor Energy Inc. is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Suncor Energy was ranked as the 48th-largest public company in the world.
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Environmental toxicants and fetal development is the impact of different toxic substances from the environment on the development of the fetus. This article deals with potential adverse effects of environmental toxicants on the prenatal development of both the embryo or fetus, as well as pregnancy complications. The human embryo or fetus is relatively susceptible to impact from adverse conditions within the mother's environment. Substandard fetal conditions often cause various degrees of developmental delays, both physical and mental, for the growing baby. Although some variables do occur as a result of genetic conditions pertaining to the father, a great many are directly brought about from environmental toxins that the mother is exposed to.
The Aamjiwnaang First Nation (Ojibwe: Aamjiwnaang Anishinaabek) is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) First Nations Band located on reserve land by the St. Clair River in Ontario, Canada, three miles south of the southern tip of Lake Huron. The reserve is located across from the United States border from Port Huron, Michigan, and is a result of treaties that were negotiated with the Crown in the 1820s. There are approximately 2,000 band members with about 650 living on the reserve. Their heritage language is Ojibwe.
Ineos Group Limited is a British multinational conglomerate headquartered and registered in London. As of 2021, it was the fourth largest chemical company in the world, with additional operations in fuel, packaging and food, construction, automotive, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and professional sports. Ineos is organised into about 20 standalone business units, each with its own board and operating almost entirely independently, although founder Jim Ratcliffe, who owns a controlling interest, and his associates, who collectively own a minority share, sit on their boards occasionally.
Polymer Corporation was a Canadian federal crown corporation established in 1942 to produce artificial rubber to substitute for overseas supply cut off by World War II. After the Japanese captured the Dutch East Indies in 1942, most of the world's supply of natural rubber was out of Allied hands. Due to the importance of rubber products for both modern life and modern warfare, the loss of such an important resource at this phase in the war was a crisis. A factory was established in Sarnia, Ontario, using German patents on the Buna-S technology from an American licensee. Polymer produced approximately 3,300 tons of synthetic rubber from oil every month from when production first began at the end of 1943 to the wars end in 1945.
King's Highway 40, commonly referred to as Highway 40, is a provincially maintained highway in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of Ontario. The 91.4-kilometre (56.8 mi) route links Chatham and Sarnia via Wallaceburg, following close to the St. Clair River. The southern terminus is at Highway 401 south of Chatham, while the northern terminus is at Highway 402 in Sarnia. The portion of Highway 40 between Highway 401 and north of Wallaceburg is within the municipality of Chatham-Kent, while the portion north of there is within Lambton County.
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Corunna is an unincorporated community in St. Clair Township, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. The site of the community was surveyed by William Beresford in 1823. The community is located approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of Sarnia. The community experienced a significant population boom between the 1830s and 1850s, mainly attributed to Scotch-Irish immigration. The community serves as the location of Chemical Valley, a major petrochemical and plastics manufacturing facility.