Nanticoke

The refinery is located in southwestern Ontario and supplies the Quebec, Ontario and US markets with a variety of essential products including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, asphalt, heavy fuel oil and home heating fuel.

Emergency contact

Please contact us immediately if you notice any unusual odours, sights or sounds. The local number is: +1 519 587 7000.

How we are prepared to keep you safe

Emergency response plans are in place for all our facilities, including pipelines. Should an emergency occur, local trained personnel are deployed and supported by a regional emergency response team and senior management. To ensure the site is always ready to respond, emergency teams conduct regular drills and simulations. The Nanticoke refinery is a founding member of the Nanticoke Community Awareness and Emergency Response committee (NAN-CAER), which includes local industries and fire and police officials. This group ensures a coordinated emergency preparation and response program in the Nanticoke industrial area.

What it means when you hear our alarms

The Nanticoke refinery’s emergency warning system consists of a series of alarms to alert site personnel of potential emergencies. Refinery alarms are tested every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. If the alarms are sounded outside of the testing period, it may be an emergency simulation exercise. We conduct a number of simulations throughout the year to keep personnel prepared. Refinery personnel will contact neighbours to keep them informed of emergency situations. In the event of a real emergency, neighbours are asked to tune in to CD 98.9 FM, Simcoe; CKOC 1150 AM, Hamilton; or CKPC 1380 AM, Brantford. A call from police or an alert on radio will warn you if an emergency can affect you.

Unless instructed otherwise, here are some guidelines to follow during an emergency in the community

• Go or stay indoors.
• Listen to the radio for further instructions and until the official “all clear” has been issued.
• Do not attempt to bring your children home if they are in school or daycare.
• School and daycare personnel are responsible for maintaining proper procedures to protect children in their care.
• Don’t tie up the phone lines. Use the telephone only if you are reporting an emergency.

Learn more about flaring

Ensuring the safety of the people who work in or live near our operations is our number one priority.We use behaviour-based systems to proactively reduce “at risk” behaviour that can result in safety incidents. An important example is the Loss Prevention System (LPS), which engages workers in hazard identification and peer-to-peer observation and coaching.In partnership with Ontario Power Generation, U.S. Steel Lake Erie Works and others, we developed a new training centre to improve contractor safety in the Nanticoke area. Based on the collaborative model used in Sarnia, the centre encourages common safety practices and procedures for use across local industry work sites. The Nanticoke Industrial Training Centre opened in March 2009. Visit our corporate safety page to learn more about our safety programs and commitment to protecting worker safety.

Working at Nanticoke

Nanticoke is a community located on the western border of Haldimand County, Ontario, southeast of Simcoe in neighbouring Norfolk County. Historically, Nanticoke has served as a busy farming and fishing community inhabited since the late 1700s. Nanticoke is now highly industrialized.

Positions at our facility are as interesting as they are diverse. We employ engineers, lab technologists, safety planners, tradespeople, administrative staff, as well as many more professions. Educational requirements vary for each position, and will be outlined in each specific job posting. A grade twelve education or General Equivalency Diploma is a minimum requirement for all positions.

If you are in operations, trades, a technician, or technical school graduate, opportunities may be posted in the careers section, other online job boards, and also at educational institutions such as Mohawk, Lambton and Cambrian College. We may also post in local and occasionally national newspapers.

The preferred method is for an interested party to apply to a posted position to ensure his/her application is directed to the desired/appropriate position. If you are applying for a specific position, please reference the competition number.

Community

We’re proud supporters of our community. We believe it is important to contribute to the quality of life in the region by supporting numerous community organizations and initiatives through donations, sponsorship and volunteerism.

Air awareness

At Nanticoke refinery, we recognize the importance of being a good neighbour, and that a key component of maintaining a good relationship with the community is through the open and transparent communication regarding our operations. One way we demonstrate this is through our participation in the Industrial Ambient Air Monitoring Network managed by the Nanticoke Environmental Committee.

Since the mid-eighties, the network has operated a series of air monitoring stations to evaluate air quality in the region. Network participants, including Nanticoke refinery, also meet with the community annually to discuss air quality issues, as well as efforts and plans to address those issues.

Contributing to a vibrant community

Employees at Nanticoke refinery take a lot of pride in their community, and contribute their time to ensuring that all residents have the opportunity to enjoy the best possible quality of life.

At the refinery’s annual United Way campaign, employees participate in a number of unique and entertaining fundraisers to help support the not-for-profit agencies that provide many essential services in the community.

Our campaigns can include traditional fundraisers such as bake sales, barbecues, and silent auctions, as well as more unusual events like a twelve-hour minigolf marathon, and an `Amazing Race’ style challenge.

During the campaigns, representatives from a number of United Way-funded agencies give brief presentations to employees to describe the needs they are fulfilling in the community through the services they provide.

Joint Health and Safety Committee cares for the community

During the December holiday season, the refinery's Joint Health and Safety Committee sponsored a site-wide food drive that saw more than 500 lbs of food raised for the local food bank.

SEED: Sowing a future of success

Science Education and Employment Development, or SEED, is a partnership formed in 2003 between Imperial Oil and Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. SEED develops educational initiatives to provide Six Nations people with the skills needed for careers with Imperial Oil, the petroleum industry and other manufacturing industries.

SEED offers programs targeted to all ages. Programs include science and technology programs for young students, like the SEED-sponsored Science Day Camp. SEED also supports the Science Technology Awards for Youth for Six Nations of the Grand River Territory students who excel in their high school math and science courses.

SEED was also instrumental in launching the Homework Support Program where tutors, computer-access and a quiet place to work are available to students.

Environment

Here are some recent examples of our commitment to reduce our environmental footprint.

We are working hard to improve our flaring performance. We have made upgrades to our flare, which are part of our noise reduction efforts. We will also increase our frequency of noise monitoring during turnarounds to identify and address any noise concerns before they become issues for the community.

We also collaborate with government, industry and other groups to maintain regional air quality monitoring networks that measure and track long-term environmental trends.

The Ontario government’s fenceline monitoring program benefits the public and helps the company by establishing a consistent way to monitor safe operations at our fenceline. Learn more about fenceline monitoring and view Imperial’s monitoring data at iolfencelinemonitoring.ca.

Toxics Reduction Act Summaries:

Petroleum Refining Industry Standard Summaries:

Air pollution - discharge of sulphur dioxide

Safety

Ensuring the safety of the people who work in or live near our operations is our number one priority.We use behaviour-based systems to proactively reduce “at risk” behaviour that can result in safety incidents. An important example is the Loss Prevention System (LPS), which engages workers in hazard identification and peer-to-peer observation and coaching. Visit our corporate safety page to learn more about our safety programs and commitment to protecting worker safety.