Bay Area health officials say a bad smell that northwest Richmond residents report has worsened recently does not pose a health risk, according to air monitoring data.
A letter sent Thursday to the Richmond City Council from Contra Costa County Health Director Kristian Lucas confirmed that the smell is coming from the West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill Organic Material Processing Facility, a solid waste management facility that processes organic waste into compost.
The facility sits just west of Parr Boulevard and Richmond Parkway.
“Air monitoring was conducted…for chemicals that would be associated with decomposing odorous organic matter,” Lucas wrote. “Our air monitoring onsite and in the community (the Hilltop area, Tara Hills and along the Richmond Parkway) did not find any levels that would constitute a health concern.”
Contra Costa County Health typically regulates such facilities to ensure they comply with state environmental standards, which include odor control measures.
The Bay Area Air District (BAAQMD) said Thursday that it’s continuing to monitor the facility.
“In addition to responding to air quality complaints, the Air District is doing regular patrols for odors near the facility and the neighboring community,” the agency said on its website. “We have issued four Notices of Violation; however, the investigation continues, and more violations are possible.”
According to the BAAQMD, in addition to the initial four violations filed on Wednesday, there were another eight notices of violations filed on Thursday.
When violations are detected, the district issues the notices, which require facilities to take corrective action and pay monetary penalties that are established under California’s Health and Safety Code. In cases where multiple notices are issued to the same facility — as in this case — BAAQMD will sometimes resolve them together.
Daniel Hoffman, a Parchester Village resident who spoke about the smell at last Tuesday’s Richmond City Council meeting, said that the stench had been “especially bad” in recent weeks. One observer said they smelled a strong rotten egg odor while driving by on Friday.
“Not only are we noticing it in our neighborhood on almost a daily basis and overnight, other neighborhoods have experienced this smell and issues,” Hoffman said. He said he hopes city and county officials will take action as they did in 2016 when Contra Costa County Health issued a number of cease and desist orders to curb a similar problem.
Lucas stated in the letter that the increase in pungency is from a combination of an increase in the volume of organic material diverted to the facility from landfills coupled with an increase in contaminated food wastes. The result, she said, is more odors than usual.
Residents who continue to smell the odor are encouraged to contact CCH’s Environmental Health program at (925) 608-5500 or email Contra Costa Health at cocoeh@cchealth.org.
“The operator is processing material as quickly as possible, and CCH is ensuring that the steps laid out in the facility’s Odor Impact Minimization Plan are being followed,” Lucas wrote. “We want to assure you that CCH staff are onsite regularly and have issued multiple notices of violation to the operator of the site as part of our role as regulator of solid waste facilities in Contra Costa County. Our Environmental Health and Hazardous Materials inspectors will continue to work with the Bay Area Air District to track this incident, conduct additional air monitoring as necessary and providing updates to the City.”
According to a CCH’s FAQ chart posted Thursday, the smell is not harmful though exposure to unpleasant odors can “cause discomfort or short-term symptoms such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, throat, nose or eye irritation.”
“Stay indoors and keep windows/doors closed. Use air filters or run AC on ‘recirculate’ if possible,” CCH advises. “If you experience symptoms, seek fresh air or medical care if symptoms are severe or persistent.”
