Residents who complained about chemical smell near Sherwin-Williams plant in Beaver County get answers

Residents near the Sherwin-Williams manufacturing plant in Rochester, Beaver County, said they finally have answers about the chemical smell they've been reporting for months.

New air testing found several compounds in Rochester that researchers said were not found in other samples collected around Beaver County, including methyl methacrylate, a hazardous air pollutant.

"My house is supposed to be somewhere where we feel safe, and we don't, whether it's inside or out," resident Kristina Warnick said.

The findings are an update to a KDKA investigation that began in March, when residents reported an overpowering chemical odor in their neighborhood that they compared to nail polish remover or spray paint.

Warnick said she installed multiple air monitors inside and outside her home thanks to help from a local organization, including PurpleAir monitors and a carbon filter.

"I have two PurpleAir monitors, multiple other air monitors, outside and inside. Also a carbon filter, which is very helpful," Warnick said.

Hilary Starcher O'Toole, executive director of the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community, helped bring that additional monitoring to the area.

"The goal really was to try and inform the community and give them a place that they could actually find real-time air monitoring results online for free," said O'Toole.

But the monitoring revealed what O'Toole described as repeated spikes in volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.

"What happened was it exposed this larger issue. We were consistently seeing on the same days of the week around the same time of day really high VOC spikes, and that was a cause for concern for us," said O'Toole.

O'Toole then connected with the Breathe Project, which began collecting air samples in Rochester. Emily Klein, program manager for Project Spotlight at the Breathe Project, said researchers have collected four air samples in Rochester and 26 samples throughout Beaver County.

"To date, we've collected four air samples in Rochester and 26 samples in Beaver County as a whole, and there's a handful of compounds that we really only see in Rochester that are clear indications of this could be where the smell is coming from," said Klein.

One compound in particular stood out.

"One of the most concerning ones is methyl methacrylate, MMA, which is a hazardous air pollutant that we found in all four samples in Rochester, but haven't seen in any other samples we collected in the region," said Klein.

The testing results indicate that MMA and other compounds were present in the air samples collected in Rochester. However, the testing alone does not establish the source of those chemicals.

The air-quality findings come after a June inspection by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection of wastewater discharged by the Sherwin-Williams plant into the public sewer system. According to the state DEP inspection report, inspectors observed what they called evidence of pollutants entering the public sewer system, including white staining and white foam in manholes.

The report said inspectors observed three township-owned manholes and one facility manhole with discharges containing "elevated levels of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs." The report said the VOC levels "could pose a risk to workers." White foam was also observed covering three of the manholes.

At the final facility manhole, known as the Hilltop manhole, inspectors stopped their testing because readings were "significant enough to warrant acute health concerns for the inspection team," according to the report. The Hilltop manhole is the "final stop for wastewater after treatment before it enters the township's sewage system," according to the report. 

For residents nearby, the findings have raised additional questions about what they may be exposed to.

"The one is right outside of my driveway. This is where we are living, where my child is riding his bike, where we are sitting, where we are sleeping. It's terrifying," said Warnick.

She questioned how residents can know whether they are safe.

"The fact the EPA and DEP had to stop testing because of their own health and safety concerns, but you walk away and you leave residents to not even know what's going on or an explanation or anything. How do they know we are safe inside? They don't," said Warnick.

KDKA reached out to Sherwin-Williams for comment on the new air-quality findings, but did not hear back on Friday. 

The Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community said residents who want to have their air tested can still reach out to the organization and see the group's real-time air-quality monitoring results.