WHAT YOU TALKIN' 'BOUT, WILLIS?

Chattanooga Stinks!

Since I can tell the smell of my son's diaper deposits, driving into downtown today I really had to wonder whose poop is it that I smell? It turns out that lots of people are wondering the same. Below is a snippet from UTC's safety police about their investigation. Perhaps the good folks at the Pulse could also do a Geraldo-type piece on this.

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In recent days the Safety Office has received several complaints of a sewer odor on campus during the morning hours. As a result of these complaints, we have been working with the UTC Facilities Department and Chattanooga - Hamilton County Air Pollution Control and the Hamilton County Health Department to identify the source of the odor.

There are a few situations that can often lend to this type of odor issue. They are building issues, weather issues, equipment issues or combined stormwater /sewer drains (such as the ones here on campus). In this particular instance, our investigation has identified the weather to be the primary contributing factor.

According to Chattanooga - Hamilton County Air Pollution Control, the odor has been present in many areas around downtown Chattanooga. The strongest being reported at the Moccasin Bend Sewage Treatment Plant. According to officials "temperature inversions tend to trap odors in the downtown area". They also stated that "there has been no malfunction of equipment at the plant" and that "the treatment facility will always have odors due to the nature of their process".

Although there is no evidence of a health risk from the odors associated with this particular occurrence, we will continue to monitor the situation. Please continue to contact the Safety Office for any concerns in the future regarding sewer or other strong odor complaints. We take these issues seriously and will continue working with Facilities as well as other outside agencies to identify any concerns that could possibly lead to health issues.

Office of Safety & Risk Management