TORONTO -- More pollutants will be regulated under revised Ontario air-quality standards for industry announced yesterday, but they're still not far-reaching enough for some pollution critics.

Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten said new standards are being put in place for 40 pollutants -- up from 29 initially announced by the province last year -- in its plan to combat air pollution across the province.

The standards are part of a five-point plan first unveiled in June 2004 that also includes applying tougher standards on industrial emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2), known to be smog-causing pollutants.

Broten confirmed yesterday the new regulations take effect Nov. 5, with a phased approach that reaches tougher targets by 2010.

Among the pollutants identified by the province for new standards are cyclohexane, which is used to make plastic and rubber products and has been linked to potential fetal development problems.

New pollutants also given revised standards include hydrogen chloride, which is emitted by coal-fired power generators; ammonia, emitted from chemical and fertilizer production; and acetaldehyde, which stems from chemical production and leather tanning.

Some of the pollutants "include carcinogens and other toxins that threaten the health of Ontarians each and every day," Broten said.

Some of the new standards impose regulations "a hundred times stricter than standards that have been in place since the 1970s."

Pollution experts on hand for the announcement at a downtown Toronto day-care centre applauded the initiatives, but some questioned whether the new measures are tough enough and are being implemented quickly enough.

"I think we all know that we need to go further on the NOx reductions and even the SO2," said Ken Ogilvie, executive director of environment watchdog Pollution Probe.