The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Nov. 15, edition that the Ontario government fined Imperial Oil $900,000 for a slop-oil leak into a tank containment area at its Sarnia site in 2021 that had an adverse effect on people.
A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that slop oil is a waste product that is typically composed of crude oil, water and waste solids, and can contain various contaminants such as hydrogen sulphide.
The Canadian company pleaded guilty under the Environmental Protection Act in a provincial court on Sept. 16, a spokesman said, for an occurrence on April 15, 2021, where nearly 1,150 litres of slop oil was discharged.
The discharge adversely affected people at two nearby businesses and residents of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, according to the court bulletin from Nov. 13.
Imperial Oil has 90 days to pay the fine along with a victim fine surcharge of $225,000.
"We regret this incident, and we accept the fine imposed by the court. Imperial has since made changes to its equipment maintenance plan by modifying the criteria used to prioritize repairs to mitigate the risk of a reoccurrence of the same incident," the company spokesman said.
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