LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Several Lakewood residents are all asking the same question: What's that horrible smell?
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Since Oct. 22, more than two dozen formal complaints have been filed regarding a chemical-like odor between Lakewood and Cleveland, Cleveland Division of Air Quality Chief of Air Pollution Enforcement Roman Fedorko told me.
Sheari Connor said she filed a report with the county last week.
"The morning of October 21, I came out to drop my children off at school. As I came outside, my son said, 'Mom, what is that awful smell? It's hurting my lungs.' The odor was a pungent, leathery, chemical smell in the air. Something I've noticed on and off in the past, but not as strong as that day," Connor said.
She described the stench as abnormal, saying it smells like melting leather paired with a combination of chemicals.
Connor said she has yet to receive a response from the county, so she posted to social media in an effort to warn people andhopefully garner the attention of someone who could help.
"My biggest concern is just making sure that my children, myself, and my neighbors in the community are safe from anything that may be toxic to our health," Connor said. "My child is an asthmatic, and when we come outside and he smells this odor, he says to me that it hurts his lungs. So I just want to make sure that there's not a chemical or a toxin that is triggering discomfort to his lungs in the place that we live."
Her post, along with several complaints to Lakewood Councilman Matt Bixenstine, did the job.
Bixenstine said he started receiving calls about the odor on Thursday.
"Started hearing from residents, particularly in the Birdtown neighborhood last Thursday evening into Friday, and it's been kind of a steady stream of folks who've reported a chemical odor since then," Bixenstine told us. "Most of the complaints have come from the east end of Lakewood, the historic Birdtown neighborhood, but we have seen complaints from other areas of the city as well, and we've also heard from folks in the the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland."
Bixenstine said he's been in contact with the Division of Air Quality, trying to find answers himself.
He said, "They encourage residents who smell the chemical odor to report it using their 24/7 hotline phone number. That investigation is underway and ongoing."
Fedorko told me investigators visited the areas in question Monday and Tuesday.
He said the smell is still a mystery to his department.
"Just really hoping that somebody can take the time to investigate where the odor is coming from and it doesn't just get swept under the rug," Connor said.
According to Fedorko, the next course of action is to follow up with those who filed formal complaints.
From there, he said three to four canisters will be handed out for residents to collect air samples for the division in hopes of running tests, collecting data, and identifying the culprit.
"Primarily the odor's been smelled by folks during the evening and overnight hours, but even when you smell it then, you're encouraged to call and report it so that the Cleveland Division of Air Quality Enforcement has real-time data to help them to pinpoint the source," Bixenstine said.
To file a complaint with Air Quality Enforcement, call (216) 664-7442.
I'll Follow Through with the Cleveland Division of Air Quality later this week for updates.
