Three women share their experiences living through the precautionary evacuation order with The Journal.

On October 1st, INEOS began Part B of its benzene removal program at its Tashmoo Avenue site, and in anticipation of high benzene levels, a precautionary evacuation order was issued for residents of Aamjiwnaang First Nation.

NationTalk: The Sarnia Journal – When benzene levels have reached 27 micrograms per cubic meter of air, it has been standard procedure for Aamjiwnaang buildings in the area of INEOS to close temporarily. In April, members of the community fell ill after high levels of benzene were reported, leading the Aamjiwnaang Emergency Control Group (AECG) to recommend a state of emergency.

INEOS has until October 16th to implement the suspension plan as issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), with plans for the plant to close in 2026. Currently, those evacuated have been told they should be able to go home over the weekend if the okay is given.

Ravena Williams is one of those residents who has been living in a Sarnia hotel since Wednesday.

The 34-year-old daycare worker grew up in Aamjiwnaang and says the classic phrase when asked about growing up surrounded by Chemical Valley is that you get used to it.

“As I was growing up, it’s kind of like, ‘okay, what kind of smell is this? Is it safe?’” says Williams.

“Sometimes I’ll smell crude oil and I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s crude oil, it’s safe.’ But other times, I’m like, ‘What is that stuff in the water? What am I going to be drinking?’ Because I hear about other reserves not having drinking water…I can’t even fathom the idea of not having drinking water.”

This is not the first time Williams has been evacuated. In 1996, a lightning bolt struck a Suncor tank causing an explosion and fire. She remembers having to leave in the middle of the night.

“We didn’t have time to grab stuff like that. We had to get up and just go to one of the hotels on the Golden Mile in Sarnia,” remembers Williams.

Through the years, Williams has noticed a deterioration in her health, especially since moving to her own home closer to INEOS in 2011. While she has currently not had any diagnosis it could be related to benzene or any other chemicals, it does have her worried.

“It was like all a mystery to me because my platelet levels are really high and all that stuff and I had to go to the cancer clinic in London and they’re like, yeah, so like we don’t know what’s going on,” Williams explains.

“I was mad. I’m like, I don’t get it because I was so healthy and all of a sudden my platelet levels were high and something was going on with my liver.”

Williams says she also experienced faintness and rapid heartbeat on Tuesday when INEOS started to do their work.

“My pulse was just going, I was like, there’s something wrong. I didn’t know what was going on. So I told my supervisor, and I said, hey, I gotta go to the ER, I don’t know what’s going on,” says Williams.

“And then I saw that my fingertips were blue. I was getting red in the face, my palms were getting red, I was getting flushed, like everything.”

A trip to the emergency room resulted in no diagnosis but did provide Williams with a referral back to the cancer clinic in London.

She explains that she has told healthcare professionals in the past about where she lives.

“I voiced a concern and they’re like, ‘well, there’s no way around that. If you’re living in the valley,’” says Williams.

“I’m like, well, it’s my home. I’m not going anywhere else. I’ve been here all my life.”

Williams continues to work on the reserve, as her job is not in the area that was evacuated. But since moving to the hotel earlier this week, she has noticed a drastic change in how she is feeling.

“I felt like a change, a relief in my lungs and my breathing, my heart rate, ever since I went up to the hotel last night like everything just went way down, it felt normal. And then I came back down here yesterday afternoon to grab some more stuff…and I could start to feel it a little bit. I’m like, ‘I gotta get out of here.’ Then I went back up and it was okay.”

Laura Rogers is another woman who evacuated on Tuesday from Aamjiwnaang alongside her family. In an email to The Journal, the mother explains they weren’t originally in the evacuation zone but were given the option to evacuate, which they chose to do.

Rogers says her family’s health is her top priority, adding, “I’m extremely grateful and thankful the reserve is looking out for the safety of our community members as short-term issues cause discomfort and the possibility of long-term health issues is downright terrifying. I do have concerns for the families/people who choose to stay on reserve during this time…I can only hope they are watching the air quality monitors available online at the CASA or INEOS websites and taking safety precautions to protect their families and themselves.”

Rogers’ aunt, Ada Lockridge, also wasn’t in the evacuation zone; however, she chose to stay in her home while INEOS completed the work.

“I know some people are staying home because they don’t want to leave their pets or anything,” says Lockridge.

“But [evacuating] it’s just being proactive, too, because you just never know. Because INEOS will say one thing. But you know what? They denied it all before, so why would I believe them again?”

Lockridge feels there is a lack of communication, but that isn’t a result of the newly elected chief of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Janelle Nahmabin.

“I know our new chief is after everybody. I just love that woman,” admits Lockridge.

And Lockridge is following in her footsteps, not taking no for an answer.

“That’s why I just can’t stop being…well… I’m nosy, being concerned, whatever you call it. I want to be updated. So that’s why I just go when I hear council’s going to have a meeting with the ministry folks, I kind of just barge in. I’m here and I’m not going nowhere,” says Lockridge.

Like Lockridge, Williams isn’t going anywhere; Aamjiwnaang is her home. However, like all the residents, she is uncertain about what will happen when they are allowed to return. She expressed her concerns to The Journal, saying,

“There’s other benzene companies in the valley; we don’t know where it’s coming from…but even when INEOS was closed, there were still numbers for benzene going through the air. We were like, ‘Hey, where is it coming from?’ And they can’t detect where it’s coming from and no one’s saying anything, so it’s kind of like, okay, well, we’re breathing it in, now what?”

Correction: an earlier version of this article incorrectly said it was an INEOS evacuation – it is a precaution the AFN decided to make while these activities are underway. 

Melissa Roushorne, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter