By Wa Lone
(Reuters) – Canada’s Aamjiwnaang First Nation declared a state of emergency due to the excessive release of harmful chemicals from INEOS Styrolution’s plastic manufacturing plant, the Indigenous group said.
The Frankfurt-based company was issued a compliance order by the provincial environment ministry on April 18 to investigate the cause of the leak at its Ontario factory, which began earlier in April. The state of emergency will stay in place unless the discharge of benzene drops to acceptable levels, First Nation said late Thursday.
The company shut down its facility on April 20 to conduct maintenance and the Ontario government is working with the First Nation to ensure public safety.
The company did not respond to Reuters request for comment on how it plans to control the chemical leak from the facility.
The Ontario government’s environment department told Reuters the provincial ministry is investigating the elevated benzene emission from INEOS Styrolution’s facilities.
Aamjiwnaang First Nation community, which has a population of about 1,000, is surrounded by industrial facilities and the group has long complained about environmental issues.
The state of emergency will allow the community to acquire more resources to tackle the situation, the chief of Aamjiwnaang First Nation Christopher Plain said in a Facebook post.
Darren Henry, the councillor of Aamjiwnaang First Nation told Reuters that more than 10 people have visited the hospital in the past two weeks with symptoms of scratchy eyes, breathing troubles and headaches.
The Indigenous group said the discharges can cause severe health risks to the community.
The declaration of emergency comes as thousands of delegates gathered in Ottawa this week to attend the United Nations plastics treaty talks to rein in soaring plastic pollution.
Janelle Nahmabin, a councilor of the Aamjiwnaang who is one of the attendees, said the unfortunate incident underscores why some countries and environmental groups want to make sure the treaty also addressees how plastics are made, including the extraction of petroleum.
“I’m hopeful that us being here and being this unfortunate example opens the eyes of the decision makers in the room, as well as all global citizens,” she said.
(Reporting by Wa Lone; Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; editing by Diane Craft)
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