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Jefferson County Landfill Still Smells

Thursday, September 13, 2007 – updated: 6:17 pm EDT September 13, 2007

About 60 residents who reside near the Apex landfill said they are still dealing with the horrible smell, with some of the worst days this week.

Those residents told NEWS9 they refuse to ignore the problem and they'll fight until its fixed, but Apex officials said they were surprised at this week's complaints and explained a recent change in weather must be the reason.

Steve Callahan, director of operations at Apex, said the company is trying to curb the odor. He said the spraying system was changed from a water base to an oil base formula. The system sprays in four places and for the past four weeks, Apex officials thought they solved the problem.

But neighbors said the spray doesn't work and also has an odor to it.

"The deodorizer is almost as bad as the garbage. It's like spraying perfume on a pig," said Tom Gardner, who lives nearby the landfill.

"We spray the waste as it's being dumped. We found it to be effective until Monday night when we got complaints," Callahan said.

Callahan said the company wants to be a good neighbor and would like to start a community action group with some residents and members of the health department.

County Commissioner Tom Graham said the commission's hands are tied. The board of health or the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency are the only agencies that can take legal action against the company.

The board of health plans to hire an outside company to monitor the air.

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