LONGVIEW — The mysterious odor reported from Kelso to Portland last month may be tied to Longview’s WestRock mill, according to a spokesperson from the Washington Department of Ecology.
Brittny Goodsell, communications manager for the Southwest Region Office, said the department is investigating WestRock’s air quality data, which could be tied to September’s odor complaints.
As of now, she said there is no confirmation WestRock violated its air quality permit, which she said requires organizations to minimize their operations’ odors if nearby people are affected.
Robby Johnson, spokesperson for WestRock, told The Daily News that the Smurfit Westrock site “fully cooperated with the Washington Department of Ecology’s investigation of odor complaints,” and that they’ve completed their own internal review into the situation.
Johnson said via email that Smurfit Westrock “can confirm that no air permit violations occurred at the facility on September 24, 2024, and there is no indication the Longview paper mill was the source of odors cited in complaints.”
Victor Leatzow, fire chief for Cowlitz County Fire District 5, said WestRock was one of the companies the agency spoke to. WestRock said that “at the time they had no releases.”
The Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management reported Cowlitz County 911 started receiving complaints about the smell at about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 24, with reports of the odor traveling through Clark County and then south into Portland through the evening.
Most described the smell as similar to burning rubber, garbage, ammonia or natural gas, with some saying it caused symptoms such as itchy eyes, headaches and sore throats.
“In Ridgefield it smells like something between cabbage and a dirty garbage can,” said one commenter on Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency’s Facebook page at 11:15 p.m. Sept. 24.
Officials investigated everything from leaks from ships on the Columbia River to venting from Mount St. Helens. Cowlitz County Fire District 5 and the Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management said they questioned companies, such as Longview’s Nippon Dynawave and Kalama’s LanXess, about the origin of the odor.
PeaceHealth spokesperson Debra Carnes said no patients were admitted during that time due to the odor.
The Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted tests in the Longview area two days after the odor was first reported but found nothing abnormal.
Despite reports of negative reactions, Goodsell previously said the odor was deemed as dangerous.
She added that when people smell odors like the chemicals added to natural gas to generate the sulfur small to alert the Washington Department of Ecology of a possible spill.
