This web-based odor reporting site was developed in response to the surge in the number of odor complaints which began in 2019 in Wilmington, NC, and the surrounding area.  Many times, odors are reported outside of business hours, on weekends, and holidays. 

One of the primary purposes of this site is to provide timely notifications to potential odor sources which may be causing the impacts so that they can conduct investigations and implement corrective actions in a timely manner regardless of the time of your odor complaint.  While the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) notifies facilities in a timely manner when they are determined to be the source of odors, we often-times cannot do so when odor complaints are submitted outside of business hours. Many times, multiple complaints come in regarding a singular odor event which are fielded by multiple staff members and eventually referred to the site inspector for investigation.  By creating this site, we are increasing the facilities (and our) awareness of the volume, timeliness and the cumulative public comments regarding those complaints. 

This page is ONLY for the residents of New Hanover and Brunswick counties to report odor complaints to the NC Division of Air Quality's Wilmington Regional Office.  Odor complaints outside of this area should be reported to the appropriate Regional Air Quality Office.  Contact information for each of the seven Regional Offices can be found here https://deq.nc.gov/.

Before submitting an official odor complaint, you need to have available the following information:

1. Your address (or if you prefer not to share that information, the intersection nearest to where the odor was detected)
2. Which county it was detected in (New Hanover or Brunswick)
3. The date and time the odor was detected
4. The type of odor (ammonia, burning plastic, cat urine, chemical, creosote, decaying plant matter/compost, disinfectant/cleaner, garbage, natural gas, sewage, or "other' (describe)
5. The odor intensity: light, moderate, severe
6. Optionally,  you can also include the weather conditions at the time, including wind direction, rain, fog, etc.

(All information submitted through this portal is considered public information, subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties.)

Submit Odor Complaint

Historical Odor Issues in Brunswick and New Hanover Counties

Where do odors come from?

Odor sources in the area include oil, chemical and asphalt terminals along the Cape Fear River; automotive and furniture coating operations; sewage treatment plants and pump stations; asphalt plants; agricultural operations; and on rare occasions, the International Paper mill in Riegelwood. Some odors are caused by malfunctioning controls at a facility, but many are caused by certain weather conditions.

Facilities associated with historical odor complaints include Coatings and Adhesives Corp., Walex Products Co., and Carolina Pole Leland Inc., as discussed below.  Today, most odor complaints in the Wilmington area are attributed to either Fortron Industries or the New Hanover County Landfill.

WiRO has worked with these facilities to substantially reduce the odors they produce.  However, as residential developments increase near these facilities, odor complaints are on the rise.  Certain weather conditions, such as calm nights with little to no wind, can exacerbate odors by preventing emissions from dispersing.  As emissions from normal operations build up overnight, a light breeze the next day can move odors downwind.

How has the Division of Air Quality reduced odors at Fortron?

The WiRO has been aware of a strong “catty” odor from Fortron Industries, LLC, since the facility opened in 1993.  Many describe the smell as the odor of male cat spray.  The compound that causes the odor is a byproduct inherently formed in the production process at Fortron and is a registered food additive in Europe that sometimes forms when making beer or bread.  It is also found in some wines.

Levels of the compound approved for use in food additive applications are higher than levels occurring in the ambient air around the facility.  The odor threshold of the compound is phenomenally low at approximately 1 part per trillion and the odor reportedly gets stronger as the concentration of the compound becomes more diluted.  For comparison, mercaptans added to odorize natural gas have an odor threshold in the parts-per-million range.

In 1997 and 1998, the WiRO conducted two studies attempting to measure concentrations of the compound in the odor plumes using a mobile mass spectrometer/gas chromatograph with a detection level for the compound of 0.2 parts per billion (ppb).  The odor was easily detected by the human nose; however, it was below the 0.2 ppb detection level of the equipment.  Information provided by the facility indicates that the concentration of the compound is expected to be in the parts per trillion in ambient air around the facility.  Stack tests conducted at the facility have not been able to detect the compound.

The facility was designed and opened with a 99.9% efficient thermal oxidizer which was not required by any air quality regulation. Since opening in 1993, DAQ has worked with Fortron to implement numerous projects aimed at reducing odors. Below is a listing of those projects:

In 2019, the Division of Air Quality triggered North Carolina’s most stringent odor requirements under 15A NCAC 2D .1806.  Under that rule, Fortron was required to implement what is termed Maximum Feasible Controls (MFC).  According to the timeline contained in the rule, the proposed MFC was approved, and implementation was completed in September of 2020.

The WiRO’s weekly odor observations prior to and after implementation indicated MFC reduced the odor levels, but the odor still existed.  Although WiRO noticed some decline in public odor complaints, it soon became apparent that MFC did not meet public expectations.  In fact, as residential development continues and people move to the area, odor complaints are becoming more frequent.

In response, Fortron continues to identify and implement additional measures beyond MFC.  Examples of some of those changes which have been implemented include:

• A successful manipulation of pH levels in the process to reduce formation of the precursor compound causing the odor.
• Installing improved seals on agitators.
• Using a maskant “Ecosorb” in the salt press area.
• Hiring a full-time person to conduct daily leak detection inspections using a handheld analyzer.

The WiRO believes most of the odors are caused by fugitive leaks.  The Clean Air Act requires leak detection checks once per month, quarter, or year depending on the equipment type being monitored.  Under the regulations, leaks are defined as and required to be repaired when they are measured at 500 parts per million or 10,000 parts per million, depending on the equipment type.

Under Fortron’s self-imposed odor management plan, monitoring is daily, and leaks are defined as anything above 0.1 parts per million.  Repairs are affected immediately or as soon as practical.  In addition to these measures, Fortron continues to explore additional areas in the process where improvements can be made and tells WiRO it is dedicated to reducing odors to the maximum extent possible.

How has the Division of Air Quality reduced odors at the New Hanover Landfill?

WiRO’s weekly odor observations and field investigations of odor complaints indicate the New Hanover County Landfill, which is next door to Fortron, is responsible for many of the odor complaints.

Most odors from the landfill are controlled by a gas collection and flaring system.  Gas collection wells are drilled throughout the landfill.  These wells are manifolded together, and the gas is routed to a central flare which oxidizes the methane, hydrogen sulfide, and other constituents of the landfill gas.  The gas cannot bypass the flare and be emitted directly to the atmosphere.

In response to these odor events, the WiRO’s observations indicate that the primary source of landfill odors is the open working face of the landfill where incoming waste is being added during the workday.  Not much can be done to eliminate odors from the active working face.  At the end of the workday, per the requirements in the NC Division of Waste Management (DWM) landfill permit, a specific amount of cover is placed over the active face; this cover includes soil, mulch, and a proprietary landfill cover called “Posi-Shell,” and other alternative daily covers (when available).

The landfill is the process of closing areas of the landfill that have reached design capacity with synthetic covers to contain landfill gas and help reduce odors.  It recently installed seven new gas collection wells in that area to collect additional landfill gas which will be routed to the flare.  While those gas collection wells are a regulatory requirement, they are not required until 5 years after the area no longer receives waste.  Proactively, the landfill is installing the wells now to address the odor complaints related to the facility.

The effectiveness of these new measures at controlling odors will be evaluated by DAQ in the Fall of 2022.  If they are deemed to be inadequate, the DAQ will consider requiring an odor control plan and possibly Maximum Feasible Control (MFC) under 15A NCAC 2D .1806, similar to the process Fortron recently completed.

How has the Division of Air Quality reduced odors in Brunswick County?

Along U.S. Highway 74/76 in Brunswick County, the WiRO successfully worked with three industries to address odor complaints.

The WiRO worked with Coatings and Adhesives Corp. and its consultant to conduct an odor study of the facility.  Coatings and Adhesives Corp. uses polymers and monomers in its production, which create an acrid odor.  The odor study identified several measures to mitigate the smell, and WiRO and the facility worked to implement those changes.  The most significant was better housekeeping and the installation of a closed-loop storage tank system to receive the facility’s raw materials.

The WiRO also worked with Walex Products Company, Inc., to mitigate the sweet flowery odor associated the manufacture of urinal cakes and cleaning products.  In that case, installing closed-loop systems and activated carbon filtration on other processes eliminated the odor complaints.

Finally, the WiRO mitigated creosote odors from Carolina Pole Leland, Inc. by requiring products be immediately shipped offsite rather than stockpiled in railcars at the facility.