Downriver residents complain of stench in the air

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (WJBK) - Something stinks Downriver and the people who are dealing with the odor want to know what it is and when it will be fixed.

Some say it smells like swamp water, sewers, or like garbage and that it's making them sick. At first the stench was annoying to people like Terri Killoran now its affecting her quality of life.

"Everyone is complaining about it. Everyone," Killoran said. "I've had headaches. I don't feel like going to work."

Scents in cities like Alvin Park, Melvindale, and Ecorse happen from time-to-time. Typically, the large Marathon refinery just off I-75 is blamed - or one of the other factories in the area. But for the people who live in the area, they say they're familiar with those types of smells.

"The refinery has a distinctive smell and this isn't it," Killoran said.

She's not the only one who has noticed. FOX 2, along with area fire departments, police, and city officials, were all inundated with phone calls from people complaining about the smell.

In Allen Park, city hall got calls from people who said they had burning in their lungs and attributed it to the smell in the air.

Here at city hall in Allen park they were getting calls about people having burning in their lungs attributing it to the smell in the air."

"Something's wrong. What kind of health concerns are going on," Killoran said. "As a nurse, that's my concern."

The local environmental protection agency office said they are investigating but could not pinpoint the source of the odor.