JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A question plaguing Jacksonville residents for years is one stop closer to a solution.
Results from a year long, $125,000 study on the odor in Murray Hill did not reveal any new sources for the smell but say it was successful in predicting when odor bloomed.
The report presented to the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board concluded the hydrogen sulfide and ammonia sensors performed well but the Volatile organic compound sensors were not useful halfway through the study. The report looked at odor complaints from 2019 to 2023 and found majority of complaints of strong odor were in the morning hours in the fall and winter, and lower in the summer.
Air Branch Manager Mike Williams says the technology found that weather and wind speed and direction affect the severity of the odor bloom.
"We now know and you can look at the model, the dispersion model and you can see that this plume moves like this with the wind and when the winds are calm when our odors are the worst you have the wind varying more than when the wind is stronger," Williams said.
Williams says odors were the worst when the wind was at the northwest.
He says the companies that received citations for odors linked to its facilities are also making improvements for the odor it contributes.
"That includes IFF and that includes American Cool Air made a change to their process right away. We haven't detected anything that we can attribute to them in a long time. And Symrise has made process improvements, in fact they called me a few weeks ago and told me they've made improvements to their vacuum system and called to let me know because it should cut down the potential for odors," Williams said.
Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board Member Adam Hoyles says the study had both its successes and disappointments.
"I recognize that industry is part of our city, it always has been, and they're an important employer and tax base for our city. But I feel like we've come to a place where they can still manufacture, and we can still have a decent standard of living. And I think that sort of proves the case that you can have both of those things," Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board Member Adam Hoyles said.
Williams says the city will continue to investigate the odors but is confident residents will see improvements in the next year. The board encourages the public to continue filing complaints if there is an odor issue in your area.