Stinky Odor

 Has any one noticed a very bad odar in the Maltby area recently. I started noticing it occasionaly last year but the other day is was so bad I could smell it in my house. The kids have noticed it frequently on hwy 522 west bound between paradise lake road and Costco at the top of the hill. It sort of smells like burning plastic or wax or something.   WHAT IS IT??????

We have smelled it too! I thought it was a dairy operation. (unless, of course is there is a dairy operation and we have different bad smells). My wife reports smells in that area also.

Hmm....

Maybe I should drive around and investigate.

Earl

I'm glad to know that someone else has noticed it as well.  I put in a message to Snohomish county but who knows if I'll hear back. I have not had much luck with the county on questions.

We've been smelling this also (our house is near flowerworld).  It does smell like burning plastic.

The smell seems to happen frequently in the evening OR when the wind changes from blowing out of the south (toward the northeast). It is severe enough that it causes a headache.

I've smelled it (very dense) even at 10-11pm at night although I have smelled it in the morning but rarely during the middle of the day. Recently I smelled it as I was driving up 522 just around the bend (where the east bound lanes have the truck lane that starts to end). I'm convinved that the smell originates between north of 522 (at the bend where those industrial places are) and south of 196th St. SE. I have not smelled it at the 522/Paradise Lake Road intersection when it's been incredibly strong near our residence. We also did not smell it at our residence when it was strong on 522.

It smells like awful melting plastic (not quite burning) or maybe laminent smell, not a natural smell in the least. It is a pungent odor that makes me wonder if we're going to get cancer. We stay inside and shut the windows it is so bad.

Because of the time it tends to smell, not normally during business hours (9-5, although some mornings, rare), I doubt the air people will be able to catch it. That's too bad because the smell is sickening.

UPDATE: (11 Mar 2009 @ 11pm) - The smell was extremely strong tonight (11pm) on 522 & Bostain road & 216th-ish. Several businesses were active.

Thank you all for your feedback. I have contaced the Puget Sound Clean Air agency. I've spoken to John. He is trying to gather as much info as possible to figure out where this smell is comming from. Any information you can provide will be helpful. His cell # is 206-786-4908. He has had about 4 complaints about the smell. Please gather as much information as you can and give him a call.

Biz

Are you sure the smell you are describing has a plastic note to it?  The smell we frequently detect out by SR 522 is coming from Pacific Topsoils.  The bark that they load onto spray-delivery trucks has a really nasty odor to it, particularly if the bark piles start to get fermenting and warm up inside.

That sounds like what I am smelling. My wife, however, reports a different kind of odor that we can smell at the house.