Peter runs his air purifier day and night, hoping to keep the strong smell from coming into his home, but it’s no big help.
“It smells like, sometimes like rotten eggs, sometimes like rotten meat,” said Peter, a resident of Barrio Logan who did not want to provide his last name.
He and several neighbors in the area say they have had to deal with this foul odor for years. But recently it’s gotten worse and they blame the smell on New Leaf, a biodiesel plant in the neighborhood.
“This is supposed to be an operation that produces green fuel but at what expense, they’re ruining the air,” Peter said.
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According to the company’s website, New Leaf Biofuel collects used cooking oil from restaurants and converts it into biodiesel. But residents in the area say the company’s manufacturing process emits bad odors that have become a nuisance and health concern.
“[It’s] very bad, we have to close the windows and turn on the fan,” said Ramona Beltran, a Barrio Logan resident. “The smell makes me have a headache."
The Environmental Health Coalition has started a petition asking the San Diego County Air Pollution control board to approve an abatement order that would force the company to fix the issues.
“This is a community that already has some of the worst air pollutions in the state,” said Nicholas Paul with the Environmental Health Coalition. “Kids in Barrio Logan, have asthma hospitalization rates that are two and a half times the national average. They use harmful chemicals like methanol, they use harmful liquids, and compounds like sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid.
Residents in the area say they have written countless letters to New Leaf complaining about the smell but have not heard back.
NBC 7 reached out to New Leaf for comment and they responded a statement that read in part: “We empathize with the concerns local residents have recently expressed and are working with local regulators to address them as quickly as possible.”
An abatement hearing with the county and New Leaf Biofuel is scheduled for later this month.
Meanwhile, residents in the area hope the odors are resolved sooner rather than later.
“We want to be safe,” said Beltran.
