GEORGIA – NOV. 2005 – VICTIMS SUFFER ALLERGIES, EYES, THROAT, SINUSES BURN, LUNGS ACHE –COURT
ORDERS SLUDGE REMOVAL – METHANE FROM SLUDGE CAUSED SEVERAL FIRES
GEORGIA Kids driven indoors by stench: "Playgrounds are empty in the afternoon and evening. Townsfolk say
they've been to doctors more frequently this fall for respiratory infections and allergy problems" ."You can hardly
breathe at night," said Thomas Williams. "It's all in your house and in your clothes. It's a terrible smell.""My throat
burns, my eyes and sinuses burn," said Linda Jarrell. "My lungs ache."
". . . a judge gave the company until Wednesday to remove three rail cars still full of biosolids and until next Monday to
empty the warehouse"
"Mayor Jarrell says the city fire department has put out several fires at the building because the methane
gas in the waste can ignite."
Weekly Biosolids Update from NBP:
From WTOCTV, Savannah, GA, 11-7-05. People in Tattnall County Town of Collins, GA Want One New
Business Out of Town. They say it creates a horrible smell with fumes that have made people sick.
Residents say the smell is so bad, they can't spend any time outside. Playgrounds are empty in the afternoon and
evening.Townsfolk say they've been to doctors more frequently this fall for respiratory infections and allergy
problems.The smell comes from sewage sludge stored in a warehouse and eventually taken elsewhere to
make fertilizer. Because the odor is so bad, the city took the company to court to get them out of town. Spend a few
minutes in the hardware store or anywhere else in Collins and what you'll hear is talk about what you smell. "Even with
your doors and windows closed, the smell still gets in and just stays with you," said resident Laura Burrell."You can
hardly breathe at night," said Thomas Williams. "It's all in your house and in your clothes. It's a terrible smell.""My
throat burns, my eyes and sinuses burn," said Linda Jarrell. "My lungs ache."
The smell they noticed months ago eventually traced back to a warehouse storing sewage sludge from human waste
known as biosolids."The rail cars came in between 9:30 and 11 at night and it's on the edge or town where people
wouldn't have paid a mind to it," said Jarrell.In the street outside the building, the smell is impossible to miss. But
people say it gets worse at night, covering the town and stretching for miles."It's frustrating," said Mayor Kenneth
Jarrell. "Because people come here for the quality of life. We don't have much industry, but we have clean air and
people like that."The city took Commodity Storage to court last week and a judge gave the company until Wednesday
to remove three rail cars still full of biosolids and until next Monday to empty the warehouse. But those at the hardware
store say, until that happens, they can't breathe any easier. Mayor Jarrell says the city fire department has put out
several fires at the building because the methane gas in the waste can ignite.