For many years, residents of the village of Nanticoke in Haldimand County lived alongside one of North America’s largest industrial polluters.
Although Ontario Power Generation’s coal-fired power plant ceased operations in 2013, the village, located east of Port Dover, is still close to Stelco’s Lake Erie steelworks and an Imperial Oil fuel refinery.
With such heavy industry nearby, how does the air quality measure up?
“The air is very clean throughout Nanticoke,” stated Denis Corr from Rotek Environmental Inc., a Hamilton-based firm that gathers air-quality data from three monitoring stations set up downwind of the industrial areas.
“There may be specific times and specific instances where you can smell different things,” Corr told The Spectator. “But overall, the air quality is actually very good here.”
Stelco, Imperial Oil, and OPG each fund a monitoring station designed to detect pollutants created during steel production and oil refining.
These three companies form the Nanticoke Environmental Committee, which held its annual open house in the village last month to share data on air quality for 2025.
Kaela Buck, a compliance supervisor with the Ministry of the Environment’s Hamilton district office, noted that Nanticoke’s 2025 data “is in line with previous years.”
Operating since the late 1970s, Nanticoke’s “ambient air monitoring network” provides “very focused monitoring” on pollutants typical for these industries, explained Corr.
For instance, the Stelco-funded station constantly checks levels of sulphur dioxide and total reduced sulphur – “the stinky stuff,” as Corr puts it – along with occasional measurements of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
All levels are “well below” provincial minimum standards and have been for years. This achievement is something Stelco takes pride in, according to Trevor Harris, vice-president of communications.
Air-monitoring network tracks ‘phenomenally tiny quantities’ of industrial pollution
In Ontario, all industries must legally monitor their emissions to understand how industrial activities affect air quality and environmental health.
Monitoring stations need to be established in spots expected to capture maximum pollutant levels. Measurements vary over time since health risks differ based on whether a compound lingers in the air for just minutes or several days.
Seeing black soot caused by oily carbons on cars and homes is clear evidence of pollution; however, the province also keeps an eye on microscopic pollutants that could be even more harmful to health.
“You’re talking about parts per million or parts per billion in a cubic metre of air. Phenomenally tiny quantities of material,” said Corr. “But the standards still need to be measured.”
There are some limitations with this data; notably that annual reports only include information about pollution directly linked to these companies involved.
“Fully 50 percent of all air pollution in Ontario- including here- comes from across the border,” said Corr.
“We’re downwind from all those power-generating facilities in Ohio Valley.”
Buck mentioned that identifying sources of pollution in Nanticoke isn’t as difficult as it is in Hamilton where multiple sites emit similar chemical compounds within a small area.
