Something smells very bad in the Moncton area.
The city is realigning the storm sewage system in the north end and that's released a chemical that has some people complaining.
Phase one in the Hildegard neighbourhood is almost complete, but the question on how to eliminate the smell that came with it is still unanswered.
“It's a styrene which is part of the resin,” said Alcide Richard of the City of Moncton engineering department. “That's what people are smelling.”
That chemical was used to cure the liner of the sewage pipe.
“It's kind of like having a sock that's inside out,” Richard said. “So they put the resin on the inside of the sock and then when they turn it back, or pull it through, it ends up on the outside of the pipe.”
And that's when the smell began to linger.
The city has received about 45 complaints from residents living nearby.
“They were smelling like a glue,” Richard said. “And they didn't know where it was coming from.”
The city placed several fans and generators, in hopes of ventilating the catch basins in the area, but once Wednesday's snow storm hit, problems began again.
“They had to shut down the fans, they had to shut down the generators, and a lot of the catch basins were filled up with snow and ice again,” said Moncton Coun. Bryan Butler.
The City of Moncton stresses that, while the odor may pack a punch, it's not harmful to anyone's health.
Phase 2 is expected to begin early next week and plans are in place to keep the smell isolated.
Until then, the fans will stay on.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kate Walker.
