EVERETT – Holly Dentler thought she would trace the foul odor Thursday night back to an “accident” left by her dog or two cats.
A quick search of her Baker Avenue home determined the stench was coming from someplace outside.
Cash, Chloe and Baby Girl were off the hook.
The real source of the rotten-egg and hair-permanent odor blowing across a large section of north Everett was an industrial mishap at the Kimberly-Clark pulp mill on the Everett waterfront 1 1/2 miles away.
Odor-producing levels of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gases were emitted into the air, as the company worked to treat hundreds of thousands of gallons of contaminated liquid stored at the pulp mill.
While the release carries a strong smell, company officials said it poses no health risk.
No injuries have been reported, although people have said the smell was bad enough to make them gag more than a mile from the plant.
Toxicologists with the state Department of Ecology, which regulates chemical pulp mills, were not immediately dispatched to Everett, but instead relied on the company’s monitoring to determine whether the emissions were in compliance with state rules.
Christine Kurtz, environmental manager for Kimberly-Clark’s Everett mill, said test results for the chemicals in the air do not exceed permissible levels.
Kurtz said testing was primarily done near wastewater treatment basins, where the highest concentration of gases formed.
Michael Schultz with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency said an inspector with the organization determined the origin of the smell Thursday.
Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District, said low levels of hydrogen sulfide in the surrounding neighborhoods should not pose a problem to anyone’s health.
“Some people are sensitive to these sulfate compounds,” he said. “If they feel ill, they should leave the area and go where there’s no odor.”
Hydrogen sulfide can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, according to the state Department of Health. It also can cause headaches and nausea.
Kimberly-Clark spokesman Scott Helker said the odor was strongest early Friday and expects it to wane by today.
In mid-February, a chemical reaction in liquid stored in the plant’s pulp digesters caused sulfur to form.
Since then, the company has had to ship in pulp from other operations, Helker said.
This week, the plant began piping the smelly liquid into an onsite wastewater treatment plant.
The treated wastewater is discharged into Port Gardener Bay.
Merley McCall, with the industrial division of the Department of Ecology, said the agency will later inspect records to see if the release was a threat to the environment.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
Odor complaints
To register an odor complaint with Kimberly-Clark, call 425-259-7387.
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