Imagine having to deal with a strong chemical smell in your neighborhood, and it just won’t go away. That’s the reality for people in part of Murray Hill.
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After years of Action News Jax investigations, the help they were promised is still not there.
Our investigation, along with thousands of complaints led to a “stink study,” ranging in the areas from Commonwealth and Biltmore to Murray Hill and Riverside.
Despite this study, neighbors said the stench hasn’t really gone away.
“It is like pine-sol on steroids. It is pungent, it can be eye-burning,” Murray Hill resident Cindy Mathison said.
Mathison and Michael Hammond both filed complaints to the city this week.
“It happens often enough that it’s a nuisance,” Hammond said.
An Action News Jax Investigation into the smell led to Jacksonville officials placing 13 “stink meters” around the area in April 2022.
The study found six potential sources, including International Flavors and Fragrances or IFF.
“I got within a mile and half of international flavors and fragrances, roll down my window and I was like that’s the smell, you are the culprit,” Mathison said.
At least 16 complaints were made towards IFF in 2021. They were fined nearly $15,000 after two citations.
But even after the company signed a compliance plan in 2022, complaints kept rolling in.
“It permeates the house, it permeates many of my neighbors houses,” Mathison said. “Many of us wake up with sinuses stuffed and migraine headaches from the odor that is created by our offending neighbor.”
IFF hasn’t been cited since the study – not because the smell has gone away, but because of the compliance plan.
A city spokesperson said the company cannot be cited while it’s in effect.
The plan required IFF to upgrade its system, which was completed in June.
“Has it changed? No,” Hammond said.
However, some neighbors said they noticed some progress. Even so, they said more still needs to be done.
A city spokesperson said they will meet with the company soon to discuss recent *validated* odor complaints.
“What’s the payoff – make your neighbors happy or make your stockholders happy?” Mathison asked.
The city does not have a date set for the meeting with IFF. A spokesperson said staff members are still working through the IFF complaints.
Action News Jax has reached out to IFF for a comment several times, and they have not responded.
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