Residents in the Cincinnati-area suburb of Saint Bernard are demanding answers from local officials after living with a "persistent odor" for weeks, WKRC reported.
What's happening?
St. Bernard is home to the Synthica Waste Conversion Facility, which opened last year.
The facility turns food waste into "renewable natural gas," per WKRC.
The Ohio location opened in June, according to Synthica's website, and it processes 190,000 tons of pre-consumer food and industrial organic waste each year.
On Jan. 11, the official St. Bernard Facebook page shared a Jan. 10 statement from Synthica, disclosing that a "tank leak" on Jan. 9 "resulted in a release of wastewater."
The company acknowledged residents' immediate complaints about an odor caused by the incident, and it asserted that it was "actively working" to "reduce" it, in addition to working with state environmental regulators.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
A Jan. 14. WCPO article included comments from locals contending with the "persistent odor." Tom Swafford lives near the facility, and while Synthica attributed the smell to a recent leak, he claimed it started a month prior.
When asked to describe it, Swafford said it was initially more like a gas leak, before evolving into a scent "almost kind of like a mix of garbage and sewage in a way."
Mark Wendling, St. Bernard's public safety director, also suggested that the issue began far earlier.
Why is this concerning?
Swafford told WCPO that the involvement of Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency was worrisome, and he expressed concern that stakeholders might not be sufficiently transparent about potential risks to his community.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
|
Do you feel like the air quality is safe where you live? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Always 💯 "Please just keep us up to date, regardless of if it looks bad or not. The public just needs to know what it is," he implored officials.
Although it's perhaps a lesser-known form of contamination, odor pollution is more than a nuisance.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, odor pollution is commonly linked with waste management facilities, meat processing factories, chemical and industrial plants, and landfills.
As the EPA noted, widespread, offensive scents are disruptive to affected communities.
However, the agency warned that unpleasant odors can also be a public health risk, sometimes caused by "volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and sulfur compounds."
An Aug. 25 thread on Reddit's r/cincinnati forum mentioned a persistent "chemical" smell in St. Bernard. Users discussed the issue, and one said such odors were not uncommon.
"St. Bernard always has a chemical smell in the air. Old industrial part of town," they wrote.
"Used to be high cancer rates along the Mill Creek neighborhoods," another replied, alluding to previous public health threats from industrial facilities.
Strikingly, while Synthica's statement indicated that the discharged wastewater didn't "reach any surface waters," the firm didn't address whether the issue was a potential public health risk.
What's being done about it?
As of Jan. 10, the St. Bernard Village Fire Department was monitoring air quality, per WLWT.
On Jan. 22, WKRC updated its report to indicate that an ongoing investigation into the odor was "expected to take two to three weeks."
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices — and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
Cool Picks
