ROCHESTER, Pa. — People who live near the Sherwin-Williams Plant in Rochester tell Channel 11 the plant has been giving off a strong smell for years, and it’s only getting worse.
“It’s awful. It’s awful. Nobody wants to smell that,” said Sharon Kessler, who lives in Rochester Township, up the hill from the plant on Cleveland Street.
The plant makes coatings that are then taken to customers, distributors, and blending facilities.
Kessler describes it as a chemical, plastic smell.
She’s lived in Rochester for 12 years, and said in recent years, the smell is stronger and she notices it more often.
“Sometimes it makes your tongue crawl, and when you smell it, sometimes it shocks your body and makes you feel sick,” Kessler told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek.
“It smells like nail polish remover,” said Katrina Warnick. “Like acetone, just whatever you would think strong chemicals smell like.”
Warnick lives right next door to the plant. Not only does it smell outside, but the smell is strong in her own house. One time, it was so bad, she left!
“Take the dog, take the kids, we left and went out to Cranberry to my mom’s,” she said.
Her oldest son, who is 19, isn’t even sleeping in his room. That’s where the smell is the strongest.
They have an air purifier in the room, and they say the red air quality light is always on.
He’s been sleeping in the hallway for months.
“Does this have long-term side effects? Is it going to be safe for me to continue to reside here?” Warnick said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said this Sherwin-Williams plant has had three violations in the last five years. The most recent news about the smell.
That most recent violation was on January 30. They also have violations from April 3, 2023, and April 5, 2022.
The DEP sent a statement to Channel 11 saying, “DEP issued a Notice of Violation to the company on January 30, 2026, for failure to install the thermal oxidizer and to perform stack testing on the facility’s scrubbers. DEP’s investigation and follow-up are continuing. DEP does not comment on current investigations or potential enforcement actions.”
Sherwin-Williams also sent Channel 11 a statement about the complaints.
“Sherwin-Williams is committed to excellence in Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) and compliance with applicable regulations across our operations. In addition, the Company is committed to being a responsible neighbor and an active partner in the community as demonstrated by our longstanding relationship with the local Rochester community,” said Julie Young, Vice President of Global Communications. “The Company takes community submitted complaints seriously and works to investigate and resolve them promptly. We are working cooperatively with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) agency to review and resolve any issues that investigations determine to be related to site operations.”
Neighbors said something needs to change.
“If they got a fine, even if they got a $10,000 fine, that would be like me giving you a dollar,” Kessler said. “This is such, and for such a wealthy company, why don’t you take care of this? What is the matter with you?”
Neighbors are urging others to report the smell to the DEP when they smell it. They are also planning to go to an upcoming township meeting in Rochester.
The DEP said, “It is helpful to DEP if community members who experience odors report them to DEP as they occur. DEP relies on those reports to determine whether a malodor is occurring in the community and to identify its cause. Complaints can be reported to DEP by calling 866-255-5158 or by reporting online at: https://greenport.pa.gov/obPublic/EnvironmentalComplaintForm/
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