JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s said to trap people inside their homes and cause headaches and nausea -- and it’s not gone.
First Coast News is on your side, tracking an issue that’s garnered thousands of complaints over several years and the city’s spent thousands of dollars on: a “vile” odor in west Jacksonville.
“I was able to step outside and immediately was just sort of hit with the same sort of turpentine or Pine Sol-like smell that has been sort of frustrating,” said Murray Hill resident Josh Gellers.
Gellers is not alone. He is one of many who was hopeful a study by Envirosuite would finally pinpoint where the odor was coming from.
“I wouldn’t view this overall as a failure, but I think it was disappointing that some things we were hoping to get out of it, didn’t come to pass.”
Gellers is not the only Murray Hill resident in a quest for answers.
Kevin Wyatt who also lives in Murray Hill wants to know where the smell is coming from.
“In the study they didn’t name any names, really named the six or some odd facilities in the region that could be responsible,” said Wyatt. “And the study almost read more like a sales pitch for Envirosuite.”
Instead, the study focused on wind patterns and predicted when the smell was most likely to occur. In the report, researchers admit that some odor sensors were not working for half of the study.
First Coast News reached out to Envirosuite for comment but has not heard back.
Kevin Wyatt who also lives in Murray Hill was also disappointed in the study.
“In the study they didn’t name any names, really named the six or some odd facilities in the region that could be responsible,” said Wyatt. “And the study almost read more like a sales pitch for Envirosuite.
Gellers isn't giving up on the problem. He's now on the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board, which, in 2021 before he joined, paid for the study.
In July of this year there were 10 times fewer odor complaints than two and a half years ago, according to city data.
“We’re never going to have no odor complaints,” said Gellers. “But what we can do is keep these issues front and center.”