LORAIN, Ohio — A strong, troubling smell in the city of Lorain had people worried for days about its source. City leaders told us they were inundated with concerned calls.
“It definitely smelled horrible especially going down Elyria Avenue,” said Mark Rose, who stopped to interview with us. He told us that the odor during the last week was something fierce.
“Everybody I know noticed it. They pointed out the smell,” said Rose.
So much so, city leaders said they got a ton of calls starting Tuesday, June 10. Various departments jumped into action, circling the city as the stench stayed strong.
“We thought we had it narrowed down to a transformer that was leaking close to it,” said Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Lloyd.
However, the odor persisted the next day. Could it be the nearby road work? Nope, in fact, the guys in that department told us they couldn’t miss it.
“We were working in this area last week and we smelled it strong,” said city worker Steve Kelsay.
FINALLY FINDING THE SOURCE
Lloyd said they used a drone to finally find the source. There were numerous barrels at Lorain County Recycling — the old Scrappy’s location.
Big barrels had been dropped off that still had residue of Mercaptan, which is the same odor added to natural gas, so you can actually smell it if there’s a leak.
“A small amount of that gives you that rotten egg, sulfur smell,” Lloyd said.
We spoke with the manager at the scrapyard, who wouldn’t go on camera but said they disposed of the barrels as soon as possible.
However, the odor lingered, keeping people a bit uneasy.
“It is a non-regulated item. It’s not a hazardous material,” said Lloyd. “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 into your home either.
“It was smelling in my car. It was smelling on my clothes,” said 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 called several emergency agencies, including the Ohio EPA.
“They gave us the OK,” said Lloyd. “It sounds like you guys did the right thing. There’s nothing further to investigate.”
The odor is now gone, but it’s something Rose won’t soon forget.
“It smelled like a car blown up or something. I don’t know. It stunk though, for sure,” he told us.
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