Pitcairn officials contact DEP over strange lingering smell

PITCAIRN, Pa. — The Pitcairn Fire Department is sounding the alarm about a strange smell in the area that could be dangerous.

People who live and work in Pitcairn describe the strange smell as rotten eggs, sewage and just plain dirty. On Sunday, the odor was exceptionally strong.

“It smelled almost more like garbage, instead of rotten cabbage smell,” said Nick Turner, Emergency Management Coordinator.

Turner calls it an emergency situation.

Meter readings done by the fire department picked up something explosive or toxic, with those numbers increasing as they got closer to the Waste Management landfill in Monroeville.

“As they were going deeper into the they were getting higher levels of lower explosive limits,” Turner said.

Turner claims the landfill won’t let the fire department on the property to check for any leaks or odors. So, he notified the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the health department. The DEP had conducted its own tests.

Residents have smelled this odor for years, and have sometimes experienced physical symptoms.

“Eye irritation, nose burning, and so on and so forth,” Turner said.

But, it’s still not known what exactly the smell is. For Turner, enough is enough. He wants to pinpoint and get rid of the problem odor.

“Closing the dump, It’s not something that needs to be done. I’d rather just have our residents safe. Knowing that they can live their lives without smelling the smell,” Turner said.

Anyone who smells an odor akin to methane gas in Pitcairn should contact the fire chief, mayor or DEP.

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