The stinkiest spots in town and what’s being done to clear the air

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected since its original posting to include a statement from ExxonMobil, which was not initially interviewed for this article. 225 regrets this omission. 

Sometimes, Baton Rouge just stinks—literally. In a hot, swampy city, home to oil refineries, chemical plants and agriculture, certain smells make themselves all too well-known to residents. So which areas of town have the raunchiest air?

The riverfront (downtown)

The culprit: ExxonMobil Chemical Plant and Refinery, which tallied up a combined 91 air quality incident reports with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) in 2015 for releases such as sulfur dioxide. In 2013, ExxonMobil Baton Rouge reached a $2.4 million settlement with LDEQ for a decade of violations, which included spills into the river and unauthorized gas releases that stink up the area.

Cleaning it up: With the recent closure of the McKinley Street sewage plant and the Water Campus aiming to revitalize the river’s bank, we’re on track for fresher air by the river—if ExxonMobil can tamp down its toxic emissions. With another lawsuit recently filed against them by the Louisiana Environmental Action Network for violations of the Clean Air Act, maybe this one will stick.

ExxonMobil’s take: “Odors come from a myriad of vessels and companies that do business along the river. More than two-thirds of the incidents reported were courtesy calls to the LDEQ and not a situation where ExxonMobil exceeded a reportable quantity,” says Stephanie Cargile, public and government affairs manager for ExxonMobil Baton Rouge. “Our employees work to comply with hundreds of regulations.”

Plank Road

The culprit: LDEQ incident reports point to unauthorized waste dumping along Plank Road, and area business Baton Rouge Tank Wash faced heavy fines in 2014 for accepting money to dump industrial wastes from tanks into the city-parish sewage system. Add in the nearby Devil’s Swamp, into which industrial facilities have poured enough waste since the 1960s to make its fish inedible, and you’ve got one funky cocktail.

Cleaning it up: Change in this area must start with residents leading the charge with local government to report illegal dumping and clean up the neighborhood.

Scotlandville

The culprit: North Baton Rouge Wastewater Treatment Plant, which fielded decades of complaints and lawsuits from residents in neighborhoods surrounding the plant. Human waste and flies destroyed property values for subdivisions such as University Place near Southern University and made life so unbearable that the Metro Council approved a $6 million buyout in 2013 to relocate property owners plagued by the stench.

Cleaning it up: Following the buyout, land within a three-and-a-half-block area of the plant has been cleared and repurposed as a buffer zone to contain smells and other environmental concerns.

West side of LSU’s campus

The culprit: LSU AgCenter’s cow pastures, which produce tons of manure. It’s a fascinating study of animal digestion for students of livestock—and an offense to the nostrils when walking downwind on campus.

Cleaning it up: Sorry, y’all. There’s no stopping this one. LSU’s agriculture programs need cows, and cows need to answer the call of nature. Buy some beef or ice cream at the Dairy Store and call it even.

Which pollutants are the worst offenders?

The details on some airborne toxins most closely monitored by LDEQ in Baton Rouge

Sulfur dioxide
Smells like: Pungent, rotten eggs mixed with a just-struck match
How harmful is it? According to the EPA, sulfur dioxide is linked to increased respiratory disease symptoms and difficulty breathing.

Ground-level ozone
Smells like: A sharp, chlorine-like odor
How harmful is it? Ground-level ozone can irritate eyes, cause breathing problems and trigger asthma attacks, and when combined with volatile gases and particle pollution, it creates visibility-reducing smog.

Nitrogen oxides
Smells like: Ranges from sharp and cloying to foul and irritating
How harmful is it? Low levels irritate eyes and respiratory systems and can cause nausea and shortness of breath, while higher levels of exposure can lead to fluid buildup in lungs, respiratory tract tissue swelling and death.