The Chemical Valley of Sarnia

These tall chimneys billowing thick, toxic smoke stand on the banks of the Saint Clair River, on the outskirts of the Canadian city of Sarnia, in Southwestern Ontario. Stretching for over 30 kilometers along the riverbank from the southern tip of Lake Huron to the village of Sombra, this region has been nicknamed the Chemical Valley, because of the large concentration of petroleum and chemical factories that are packed together here, elbow-to-elbow, within an area the size of a hundred city blocks. Sarnia’s Chemical Valley is home to sixty-two chemical plants accounting for nearly 40 percent of Canada's chemical industry. These industrial complexes are the heart of Sarnia's infrastructure and economy, creating —directly and indirectly— more than fifty thousand jobs in the area. Photo credit: P199/Wikimedia The roots of Chemical Valley date to the mid 19th century, when oil was discovered just south of Sarnia and the country’s first commercial wells were dug in the villages of Petrolia and Oil Springs. The abundance of crude and its proximity to Detroit, Chicago and Toronto made it the ideal location for a petrochemical center. When the Second World War began, and Japan occupied Southeast Asia, where most of the world’s natural rubber came from, it became crucial for the Allies to find an alternate source. Time being scarce, a decision was taken to produce synthetic rubber, and Sarnia was chosen as the site for the plant. Sarnia was located near crude oil fields —the raw material needed for production of synthetic rubber, and there were already refineries there, which provided cheap means of transportation for both raw materials and products. Besides, large quantities of low temperature water that is needed in the plant’s cooling system were easily accessible. Within the first two years, the rubber factories were supplying all of Canada’s military and civilian needs for rubber.