S. Fulton firm agrees to settlement over chemical stench

George Nicholson was driving to his south Fulton County home one day two summers ago when he smelled an onionlike odor from the highway.

The closer he got to home, the stronger the smell.

“The smell was bothering everybody,” said Nicholson. “The dogs wouldn’t go outside.”

Nicholson and his Fairburn neighbors soon figured out the source of the stench — chemicals from the plant owned by Philip Services Corp., tucked away off Ga. 92, where wastewater was treated and sent to Fulton County.

About 2,000 residents — some from 15 miles away in Peachtree City — claimed the odor and chemicals caused health problems and made their lives unbearable.

At issue were water shipments from Alabama containing the agricultural pesticide ethoprop and an odorizer additive called propyl mercaptan. Ethoprop, also known as Mocap, is lethal to humans and wildlife in large quantities and is a known human carcinogen. The propyl mercaptan, commonly added to pesticides and natural gas as a warning agent, can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and skin irritation.

Last month, Texas-based Philip Services agreed in principle to a $4 million settlement. The settlement is scheduled to be finalized in April.

Despite the deal, those who live closest to the plant are not satisfied. Some say the chemicals that caused the smell beginning in June 2006 caused more serious health problems that have been ignored or covered up by local, state and federal officials. They want the plant shut down.

“At some point, [Philip Services] had to realize it was more than an odor,” said Nicholson, whose son’s allergies worsened. Nicholson’s wife had congestion issues.

Nicholson’s neighbor, Earl Hindman, blames the plant for the rapid deterioration in the health of his wife, Clare, 66, whom he said was diagnosed with amyotropic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, shortly after the smell began. She died Aug. 24.

“There’s no doubt in my mind. My wife was poisoned,” said Hindman.

An attorney who represented Philip Services noted a 102-page report by state and federal health officials found no hazardous levels of the chemicals believed to have caused the odor. The report was released in March.

“There’s absolutely no scientific evidence that Lou Gehrig’s disease could have been caused from this event,” said Kevin Buster of the Atlanta law firm King & Spalding.

The disease has no known causes, according to the ALS Foundation, which fights to help people with the disease.

Buster said the company agreed to the settlement to avoid further legal costs and “to reach a resolution rather than fighting with [residents] for an extended period of time.”

In late June 2006, Philip Services received more than 30 shipments of wash water for treatment from Alabama. The wash water contained the ethoprop and propyl mercaptan. On June 29, PSC received another four shipments that it rejected after tests showed high concentrations of the chemicals.

By then, the noxious onion aroma was already in the air of this residential area.

Some residents said they sent their children away for the summer, fearing the chemicals could harm them. Others were afraid to mow their lawns and decided to forgo barbecues.

County officials investigated.

Philip Services withdrew its request for a new discharge permit after Fulton said it would not renew it. Philip Services also agreed not to seek a discharge permit for six years.

There have been other changes. Chemicals are no longer treated at the plant. Philip Services, under the eyes of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, is closing the pit where substances like restaurant grease are converted into solids.

Still, some residents distrust the EPD, to the agency’s chagrin.

“We’ve handled [the case] in the best manner we believe we can do,” said Jeff Cown, manager of the EPD’s Solid Waste Management program.

The one thing all sides can agree on is that the smell was horrible and no one wants to get a whiff of it again.

“It was a lost summer for all of these people,” said Scott Zahler, an attorney who represented some of the residents.