A strong, troubling odor in Lorain left residents concerned for days about its source. City officials told us they had received an overwhelming number of calls from concerned citizens.
“It definitely smelled horrible, especially going down Elyria Avenue,” said Mark Rose, who stopped by to speak with us. He told us that the odor had been particularly strong over the last week.
“Everyone I know noticed it. “They pointed out the smell,” Rose said.
So much so that city leaders reported receiving an overwhelming number of calls beginning Tuesday, June 10. Various departments jumped into action, circling the city as the stench persisted.
“We thought we had it down to a transformer that was leaking close to it,” Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Lloyd explained.
However, the odor persisted the following day. Could it be the nearby roadwork? Nope, the guys in that department said they couldn’t miss it.
“We were working in this area last week and smelled something strong,” said city worker Steve Kelsay.
FINALLY FINDING THE SOURCE
Lloyd stated that they used a drone to finally locate the source. Lorain County Recycling, which used to be Scrappy’s, had a large number of barrels.
Big barrels had been dropped off with remnants of Mercaptan, the same odor added to natural gas, so you could smell it if there was a leak.
“A small amount of that gives you that rotten egg, sulfur smell,” Lloyd told me.
We spoke with the scrapyard manager, who declined to speak on camera but stated that the barrels were disposed of as soon as possible.
However, the odor lingered, making people feel uneasy.
“This is an unregulated item. “It’s not a hazardous material,” Lloyd explained. “It just had a bad smell, and that’s for a safety purpose.”
NOT TOXIC BUT WAS STILL NOT PLEASANT
Not toxic, but not pleasant to have wafting through your home.
“It smelled in my car. “It smelled on my clothes,” explained the chief. “I had to leave all my stuff outside because my wife didn’t want it in the house.”
In the end, Lloyd said he contacted several emergency agencies, including the Ohio EPA.
“They gave us the okay,” Lloyd said. “It sounds like you did the right thing.” There is nothing more to investigate.”
The odor has dissipated, but Rose will not forget.
“It smelled like a car was blown up or something. I do not know. “It definitely stunk,” he said.
