BRADS Landfill Scrubber System Goes Offline; Saint Clair Residents Warned of Potential Smell

Saint Clair residents were alerted to the potential for a weekend of putrid odors from the BRADS Landfill.

On Friday, residents received a text alert notifying them that the BRADS Landfill scrubber system went offline. The alert notified residents that the smell of hydrogen sulfide in the air was likely through the Labor Day weekend.

Residents also received an alert phone call about the scrubber system going offline.

According to information on the website for SCS Engineers, of Long Beach, Calif., the company that installed the scrubber system, significant odors are being generated from decomposing wallboard and other construction debris, which is accepted at BRADS. 

“The anaerobic and saturated conditions in the landfill promoted the generation of hydrogen sulfide gas,” the company writes. 

The smells prompted the installation of the company’s scrubber in 2021, according to information on that site.

Hydrogen sulfide in the air, especially at low concentrations, smells like rotten eggs. A rotten egg smell is reportedly a common occurrence in Saint Clair and residents say the landfill along Burma Rd. in neighboring Blythe Township is the root cause of it.

On the SCS site, the company claims that odor complaints “ceased” after their system was installed but that isn’t true.

At a public hearing in May, Saint Clair and other area residents logged complaints to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection about the smells emanating from the landfill and the health problems and diminished quality of life they’ve suffered as a result.

Waste Connections, the company that owns BRADS Landfill, was not available for comment since The Canary was notified about the alert sent to Saint Clair residents.

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