Company Agrees To Control Foul Odors

GAHANNA, Ohio -- People living near a Gahanna-area industrial plant say foul odors from the business have been encroaching into their living area.

The Columbus Steel Drum Co. has entered into an agreement with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to control the smell, but will it be enough?

"It's a first step," said Kim Norris of the Ohio Attorney General's Office. "They have a little bit farther to go, but this will at least address immediately a concern of the citizens, a good concern of the citizens."

Residents say their noses have been burned by the smells, which they say come from the company's plant.

The company's work of refurbishing and recycling steel drum containers does produce smells that can carry in a breeze, NewsChannel 4's Holly Hollingsworth reported.

The company added odor-controlling scrubbers and oxidizers before reaching the agreement with the state, but there is more to be done, Hollingsworth reported.

"We're going to bring in an engineering firm to optimize what we have in place and see what else is needed to continue improving," said Ron Grannan of Columbus Steel Drum Co.

Norris said if the company doesn't comply, it faces fines of $1,000 per day.

Steel drum reclamation work has been done at the site for 30 years. Company officials said a new owner purchased the plant two years ago. The owner has reportedly spent nearly $200,000 to try to correct the odor problem.