The toxic fumes from the Crow Lane Landfill are from hydrogen sulfide and smell like rotting eggs or rotting cabbage. The odors have caused headaches, nausea and dry-heaves, among other symptoms.

Residents are urged to continue to call in stench reports to the landfill owner, New Ventures (978-462-5240), whenever they smell hydrogen sulfide from the Crow Lane landfill — day or night, weekdays or weekends.

The DEP and the Attorney General’s Office pay attention to the number of recorded episodes. Apparently, if only a few calls are recorded, New Ventures claims that it is “only a few troublemakers” who object and that no one else notices the hydrogen sulfide or cares about it. So residences are urging people to encourage their neighbors to call as well and keep calling until the problem is permanently solved.

If possible, please also e-mail Ron Klodenski at (ronklod@verizon.net) or Jack Morris at the Newburyport Health Department (jmorris@cityofnewburyport.com) or both after an odor incident is called in.

Please include the approximate time, date and location of the fumes so that the Health Department can verify that the telephone report was recorded and reported back to the Health Department by New Venture. Every attempt will be made to forward e-mails onto the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) so that they know the problem has yet to be solved.

Again the meeting addressing this acute problem is this Thursday
September 14, 2006
7 PM
Newburyport City Hall

Mary Eaton
Newburyport