Reader report: Another mystery smell

From time to time, someone will e-mail or call about a disturbing/unexplained smell of some type, somewhere. Someone who talked with us at Summer Fest even asked about something he’d noticed repeatedly. We don’t always publish these reports – we’ve referred people directly to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency – but now we’re thinking “crowdsourcing” just might help solve the mystery, so here’s one that just came in from Heather:

I’m not sure whether this is the sort of thing that justifies a request for information from the readers, but this morning there’s a terrible, noxious, plasticky smell over our neighborhood (west side of 35th and Holden) [map], and I wonder if anyone else notices it, and whether anyone knows what it is. This is maybe the third time I’ve noticed this, and it worries me. It reminds me of the smell of pesticides sprayed by crop dusters.

Our first line of advice was to complain to PSCAA so they at least have a record of it. Here’s how to do that.

Rob July 15, 2008 (9:15 am)

I smell it in Gatewood this morning (Tuesday). It is the exact same smell they’ve been dealing with in South Park for at least 10 years. It was especially strong driving down Marginal Way South yesterday morning which leads me to believe that it is coming from the cement plant yet again.

Denise July 15, 2008 (9:37 am)

Rob, I think you are right on about the cement plant. I work at the Harbor Island marina complex (very close to the cement plant) and the plasticky smell is very strong this morning. On Friday that plant was billowing black smoke into the air – also out of the ordinary…..

Karen July 15, 2008 (9:40 am)

Yep, we’ve got it here, too in the Westwood area. From the Cement plant. Call PSCAA and file a complaint. At this time PSCAA is not investigating or citing for violations at LAFarge because they say that the problem has been solved. If enough of us complain, it will be obvious that the problam is NOT resolved.
(206) 343-8800, ext. 6 / (800) 552-3565, ext. 6

Scott July 15, 2008 (9:43 am)

Me too, I’m not too far from the same 35th and Holden intersection as well. Smelled it this morning… I used to think that it was the steel plant down near Harbor Island, maybe not.

Therese July 15, 2008 (9:46 am)

I don’t smell it today but the caustic smell has returned to my Highland Park neighborhod this summer. It is the same “cement plant” smell we complained about for years. I live near Westcrest Park.

Cait July 15, 2008 (10:13 am)

Does anyone know why the Target and Safeway parking lots sometimes smell like Dimetap? It’s this really sugary grape smell…

Stephen July 15, 2008 (10:14 am)

We live near Hughes playground (E side of 35th) and when I left for work around 7:15am I thought it smelled like there was a lot of disinfectant in the area. I know concrete well and did not think what I smelled had a cementitious odor but I could be wrong.

Rick July 15, 2008 (10:15 am)

Thought I was just havin’ another one of those olfactory hallucinations. Feel much better now that I know. Thanks

d July 15, 2008 (10:36 am)

Yes. I noticed it yesterday and this am here in Highland park. Wow. Thought someone was tarring a roof or something.

I’m gonna’ call too.

Dave Anderson July 15, 2008 (11:06 am)

I smell this “plasticky” smell all the time from my house on 23rd and brandon. It smells like burning wire insulation to me.

And I have noticed the grape smell in the Target parking lot too.

Someone should do a Smells of West Seattle tour.

Ken July 15, 2008 (11:19 am)

Cat:
Sweet smell in parking lots in summer is often anti-freeze/coolant lost after running AC on a car with a degraded recovery hose or overfilled coolant tank. There can also be decomp near grocery stores from past date fruits and veggies.

It would be rare enough here (as is hot weather) to call attention to itself.

Angelina July 15, 2008 (11:21 am)

Some stores pump smells into their parking lots to encourage shopping. A study found that grape smell actually causes people to shop more…

Spud July 15, 2008 (11:36 am)

I have a friend who works at that cement plant on Marginal… He said that they’ve been shut down a couple of weeks, so I don’t think that the smell is from them…

TeresaP July 15, 2008 (12:54 pm)

Hopefully it is not a meth lab!

MAS July 15, 2008 (1:35 pm)

I’ve smelled the acetone smell before on Holden about 3 blocks east of 35th, assumed someone was cooking meth.

Bill July 15, 2008 (1:36 pm)

I live on the corner or 32nd and Webster (Sunrise Heights)and I smelled it this morning at around 7am when I opened my window. It is not the first time I’ve smelled this. It smells like a chemical for sure.

Heather July 15, 2008 (2:35 pm)

Wow y’all, I’m so glad to know I wasn’t imagining it. Please call the hotline if you can, I think they need to be impressed by numbers.

Heather July 15, 2008 (2:36 pm)

Well, at least it’s good to know I wasn’t imagining it. Please call the hotline if you can, I think they need to be impressed by numbers.

Heather July 15, 2008 (2:37 pm)

Oops. WP didn’t want that comment to post the first time.

wseamom July 15, 2008 (3:06 pm)

I called.

Karen July 15, 2008 (3:32 pm)

The cement plant on Marginal is Ashgrove, I believe. The smelly plant in LaFarge.

pigeonmom July 15, 2008 (3:46 pm)

Finally!! Someone else smelled the Target parking lot smell! I thought I was going nuts.
It is not the “maple” odor from radiators
and it is not decomposing fruit and veg
it is grape and is year round.
A couple of years ago I saw a device on
the roof of Barnes & Noble.
Got a pic of it but computer was acting
up and couldn’t send it to WSB.

Kat July 15, 2008 (3:48 pm)

On the subject of bad smells, I have always assumed there was a sewage leak somewhere along Highland Park Way hill… Anyone know more about this very frequent, multi-year poop smell?

Michele July 15, 2008 (4:37 pm)

I am very glad to hear that others are calling the Clean Air Agency too. I live on 30th between Webster and Holden and I frequently smell this. To me, it smells like pesticides or fertilizer – and it is very overpowering at times. I’ve actually closed my windows on these hot days in an effort to stop the smell from permeating my house. If is the cement plant -does anyone know what could be causing the smell? What are they burning?

mesmith July 15, 2008 (5:59 pm)

Karen,

I checked addresses out… Lafarge is on West Marginal, Ashgrove is across the river.

CP July 15, 2008 (8:20 pm)

THANK GOD! Good lord I thought I was going nuts!

P.v July 23, 2008 (2:35 pm)

This is a very important issue for us in WS, The fumes you smell are from the cement plants. The emissions from these plants contain MERCURY. Got that, MERCURY. This is poisoning us. The EPA is currently reviewing acceptable levels of M. Please get involved in demanding that these plants, either put in the technologies that will completely scrub the air and wastewater, or move elsewhere and build new plants. The LaFarge plant is one of the oldest in the country and the plant produces more pollution then new plants. This show on KUOW is extremely informative,

P.v July 23, 2008 (2:38 pm)

I know…

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=14375

K July 23, 2008 (6:12 pm)

If what you are smelling has an odd chlorine-like or caustic odor to it you are most likely smelling Lafarge cement. I URGE you to call Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) whenever you smell this. PSCAA is in a huge state of denial about what is going on at Lafarge and we need as many people as possible to call in with odor complaints whenever there is a problem. I ride my bike by them daily and am almost obsessive-compulsive in my studying of their plume and wind direction. Almost without fail if they’re operating and the wind is blowing their plume towards our neighborhood we smell the smell. And I hate to scare folks…but they are burning tires in an old kiln facility. We should have some healthy concern here.

James (Beacon Hill/Georgetown) September 12, 2008 (8:09 am)

This is a bit late, but this morning I smelled the same thing over on the east side of I-5 just above Georgetown. It seems like the smell shows up on calm and sunny morning. Perhaps days when the wind doesn’t blow away the emissions? I did report it today.
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I’m thinking the crowdsourcing idea is a good one. Maybe we need to get a Beacon Hill, South Park, West Seattle and Duwamish site setup for reporting and recording our own clean air complaints.
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It seems that PSCAA collects the data but can we see it to correlate things? Also seeing the data real time could help validate people so they don’t feel they are halucinating. Nice….

Sorry, comment time is over.