NOVA fined $150,000 for delayed report of Corunna benzene spill

NOVA Chemicals was fined $150,000 plus a $37,500 surcharge after approximately 1,475 litres of material, primarily benzene, escaped at its Corunna facility in January 2024. Ontario says the company issued a local alert but notified the ministry about two hours after the spill, after ministry staff directed it to report. No adverse health impacts were reported.

NOVA Chemicals was fined $150,000 for failing to promptly notify Ontario’s environment ministry after a January 2024 benzene spill at its Corunna petrochemical facility.

The company was convicted in Sarnia on June 22, 2026. The ministry disclosed the conviction in an Oct. 7 court bulletin. A $37,500 victim fine surcharge brings the penalty to $187,500.

According to the ministry, approximately 1,475 litres of process material, primarily benzene, escaped on Jan. 20, 2024.

Investigators traced the release to a failed seal inside a pump assembly. Material leaked through the pump’s gearbox vent in both liquid and vapour form.

Liquid pooled on the ground near the pump and was reported to have frozen. The ministry says remediation was reported to have eliminated vapour escaping from the pool shortly after the spill.

NOVA issued an alert through the local notification system, but notified the ministry approximately two hours after the spill, after ministry staff directed it to report.

According to the ministry, no adverse health impacts were reported. The ministry described NOVA as cooperative with the investigation, and the company was given 120 days to pay the penalty.

The incident was reported publicly that day. Sarnia News Today reported NOVA’s statement that the release had been immediately isolated and that continuous air monitoring was conducted at several locations.

The company said perimeter monitoring showed no off-site readings and an all-clear had been issued. The report also cited an Aamjiwnaang Notification System alert identifying a benzene containment failure at 785 Petrolia Line.

NOVA’s environmental emergency fact sheet identifies that address as its Corunna Site. The facility produces ethylene and co-products and supplies feedstock to the company’s other local polyethylene manufacturing sites.

Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act required those responsible for a reportable spill to notify the ministry and local municipality “forthwith.” The notification duty arose when the responsible person knew or ought to have known that a spill had occurred.