High benzene levels detected near Ontario First Nation for weeks, residents report sickness [Video]

Staffers of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation leaving their band office with complaints of headaches, nausea and dizziness.

A family of three rushed to the hospital.

An expectant mother fearing for the well-being of her baby.

These are snapshots of the chaos that has unfolded on this First Nation in southwestern Ontario, located near Sarnia in an area called “Chemical Valley.” The band issued a warning on April 16 after extremely high levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene were detected in the air.

“I started freaking out,” said Saige Hallet-Plain, 19, who is 30 weeks pregnant. “I don’t know what’s happening to my baby.

“I don’t know if she will be safe, even after she’s born, or if there could be difficulties.”

Hallet-Plain is one of dozens of residents in the small First Nation of 900 people who have reported feeling sick or in some cases needing hospitalization.

A Global News analysis of air monitoring data from …