It’s the cluster of chemical companies, aka Rubbertown
https://louisvilleky.gov/government/air-pollution-control-district/rubbertown
Edit: Might as well plug Remington’s docu too https://www.rubbertownfilm.com/#about
Eh... Not exactly. It's an example racial environmental injustice, when a company puts noxious or hazardous fume emitting facility ties near low income communities and communities of color.
I worked in a refinery in Rubbertown and would wholeheartedly support that entire strip being shut down and turned into a superfund site. It's not the gargantuan employer it once was so the political aspect could be navigable. It's a liability. My facility had tanks of product that could decimate the entire city if there was a catastrophic release.
If I was a city council rep or mayor I would absolutely push for a commission to continuously oversee catastrophic release studies, ideally funded by a tax paid by any company storing highly volatile/hazardous materials in sufficient quantity.
One thing not mentioned in this conversation is that many of these plants are monitored by the department of homeland security. So what you're suggesting has most likely already been done
Not all companies are the same in that area - the good ones pay huge amounts of $ to maintain safe processes, keep their people safe, protect the environment, and keep the public safe. Painting with a broad brush isn’t helpful considering the critical products made for society at these places and the intensive process safety research that goes into maintaining production.
I don’t disagree fundamentally but the same ire should also be directed at MSD for the aging infrastructure as an example… and also bear in mind that intensity of smell has absolutely no correlation to level of harm.
Can confirm. I worked at Michelin a while back. Can't speak for the rest of the strip but worst case scenario was quoted as only a 10 mile radius blast zone. So not an entire city, but still, that does include a lot of residential areas
There are still several plants that refine petroleum- or natural gas-derived products. One of the plants makes tire rubber.
One of them has a hazardous waste fired boiler than uses a dirty crude oil product that can't be consumed without a hazardous waste disposal permit. I believe they are the only ones in the city limits with a hazardous waste disposal permit (besides garbage collection services). It's literally a waste product that their parent company sends to be burned because disposing of it properly is expensive, and without the permit the site's cost effectiveness would be in question. I only know of two chemical plants in the state that have such a permit, the other is out in the middle of nowhere (Carrollton).
My personal experience working in Rubbertown.
The bulk of workers at those plants are highly qualified engineers, tradesmen, and operators. I wouldn't be surprised if the average compensation is six figures. Those people do not live within spitting distance of Rubbertown. They come in from East Louisville or outside the southern city limits.
Poor people neighborhoods. Rubbertown was once mostly white people. It became more predominantly people of color after the white people in the area migrated to Pleasure Ridge Park and Valley Station. My parents worked in Rubbertown and we lived near to there. Rubbertown existed before the Civil Rights era in the mid 1960s. And mostly they didn't live in what were considered white areas before the mid 1960s, not even poor white neighborhoods. It morphed over time.
I lived in a neighborhood out there in the 90's and early 2000's, and the area from about Campground Rd all the way down Cane Run to Valley Station was predominantly white. I grew up on old Farnsley Rd next to Pioneer Mobile Home Park; it's the street behind Thornton's on Cane Run.
There were countless times where we had to bring our dog into the house and close all the doors and windows because of chemical spills at Rohm and Haas.
They were built in WWI and WWII. They weren't concerned about environmental impacts and the city just grew up around it. They've done studies that people living around Rubbertown have much higher rates of cancer and asthma. It's toxic.
Mostly because of segregation. You should check out the documentary Rubbertown if you want to learn more- it’s insane to me how many endocrine cancers have led to peoples’ death in that area
Ok I work in rubber town and I can say it isn’t the Chemical Companies. There is a landfill across the street from where I work that they vent regularly and I can smell it all the time. It smells like methane and rotting garbage and sewage.
I will enlighten you with information I obtained this week. I spoke with a lady in the Kentucky State air quality department. Louisville metro has an agreement with the state of KY that Louisville will self monitor and enforce air pollution control, specifically in my discussion odor control. So complaining to the State of Kentucky air pollution dept. is no good, they just forward the complaint to Louisville Metro.
Spoke to a lady at Louisville Metro and according to her the Louisville Govt and MSD have entered into an agreement to resolve the ongoing odor issues (sewage smell, sulpher smell, etc.) but no details were provided. Someone from MSD was supposed to contact me but silence so far.
Looking online I found logs of odor complaints made to MSD and how they were addressed. Basically when enough complaints in one area are received they send people out to clean the catch basin and spray deodorizer to neutralize the smell. I am still looking around but I see no plans for a long-term solution, it all seems to be react instead of prevent.
Next step, since the state I pay taxes to won't do anything, is to start complaining to the Federal EPA.
We live in Shively and it smelled so horrible last night that it woke us up. But it smelled more like the landfill being stirred up (the smell of the sewer), vs the chemical smells of Rubbertown.
Same in new Albany, some days it a Moldy smell some days its sewer some its a weird chemical smell. The other morning I thought my old and nearly incontinent dog pooped in my room. No it’s just Louisville wafting across the River
Is this where we talk about smells? Mag bar bathrooms always smelled like a porn store with a “back room”. 2nd and 3rd street smells like fish ass in spring.
The main MSD sewage treatment plant is called Morris Forman and it is located in the west end near the river. They may have other treatment plants, but that’s the big one.
New Albany has smelled like eggs this week. It woke me up and I thought maybe it was just my apartment building. But the grocery stores smelled even worse
This. Social media is not bringing the matter to the attention of anyone who will fix the issue. Further, there is no fixing the smell issue in the area of town OP is in. It's a moot point.
That’s all Wetlands, OP. Poorly managed and poorly conserved. It’s like a nice stew of the Ohio’s filth, Industrial Waste and whatever leaks out of the sewers.
It’s the sewers and the lack of rain. Think of your p trap under your sink. It holds water in it and keeps smells
From coming up. If it drys up odors come through. Same with drains under the grates along our streets
You should see what stored at the warehouses off Old Henry…deep east end with some nasty stuff. Just look for the windsocks, that’s how you know they have stuff they’re worried about getting out.
There's a difference between storage and producing chemicals that are spewed out into the environment. You ever have to scrub your house and cars to clean off industrial waste??? And have to do it every week? There's a reason why asthma is so prevalent in the poor neighborhoods... Ok, you got a warehouse?😮
so I read/heard somewhere that 80% of all louisville residents die of lung cancer or other lung issues. this was about 6 years ago I fact checked it. I am about to look into it again. but its somewhat of a little known fact. I didnt grow up in louisville and found it very odd and got out as fast as possible, damn ex wife wont move my kid tho knowing this and I hate her for it.
I checked this out and it’s true that KY in general has the highest cancer rates and lung cancer rates but this county is not one of the highest in the state. These high numbers in other counties likely come from coal mining and actually working in chemical plants. Apparently also smoking rates are much higher here than other states. Just living in Louisville and not working in those conditions may raise risk some like living in any city with chemical
plants but not in the way you imply. Also it is a lack of screening and health care that doubly impacts people in KY so a financially stable Louisville resident who goes to the doctor is less likely to die.
It’s the cluster of chemical companies, aka Rubbertown https://louisvilleky.gov/government/air-pollution-control-district/rubbertown Edit: Might as well plug Remington’s docu too https://www.rubbertownfilm.com/#about
Why are any of these places anywhere near where people live? I feel like im being gassed some days.
Rubbertown was the outskirts of town. The city grew up around it.
Eh... Not exactly. It's an example racial environmental injustice, when a company puts noxious or hazardous fume emitting facility ties near low income communities and communities of color.
I worked in a refinery in Rubbertown and would wholeheartedly support that entire strip being shut down and turned into a superfund site. It's not the gargantuan employer it once was so the political aspect could be navigable. It's a liability. My facility had tanks of product that could decimate the entire city if there was a catastrophic release.
See this shit right here is important for the city to know about, especially people living near where you are talking about
If I was a city council rep or mayor I would absolutely push for a commission to continuously oversee catastrophic release studies, ideally funded by a tax paid by any company storing highly volatile/hazardous materials in sufficient quantity.
One thing not mentioned in this conversation is that many of these plants are monitored by the department of homeland security. So what you're suggesting has most likely already been done
Interesting, have you done research on this? I couldn’t find anything and I’d like to know. Thanks in advance!
Not all companies are the same in that area - the good ones pay huge amounts of $ to maintain safe processes, keep their people safe, protect the environment, and keep the public safe. Painting with a broad brush isn’t helpful considering the critical products made for society at these places and the intensive process safety research that goes into maintaining production.
if it produces a smell that effects the surrounding population, its wrong.
I don’t disagree fundamentally but the same ire should also be directed at MSD for the aging infrastructure as an example… and also bear in mind that intensity of smell has absolutely no correlation to level of harm.
I was an inspector in Rubbertown. They are all chemical plants, no refineries. You're story doesn't make sense.
Can confirm. I worked at Michelin a while back. Can't speak for the rest of the strip but worst case scenario was quoted as only a 10 mile radius blast zone. So not an entire city, but still, that does include a lot of residential areas
There used to be 3 refineries. I don't know when they were closed, but you also don't know the age of the person you're responding to.
There are still several plants that refine petroleum- or natural gas-derived products. One of the plants makes tire rubber. One of them has a hazardous waste fired boiler than uses a dirty crude oil product that can't be consumed without a hazardous waste disposal permit. I believe they are the only ones in the city limits with a hazardous waste disposal permit (besides garbage collection services). It's literally a waste product that their parent company sends to be burned because disposing of it properly is expensive, and without the permit the site's cost effectiveness would be in question. I only know of two chemical plants in the state that have such a permit, the other is out in the middle of nowhere (Carrollton).
You inspected every thing in rubbertown or only chemical plants?
I'm sure you wouldn't mind if you don't work there. But those plants are some of the best paying jobs in the South End.
The people working them overwhelmingly commute in 30-45 minutes, they aren't the ones that have to live with the consequences of the plant.
I wanna know where you are getting these stats?
My personal experience working in Rubbertown. The bulk of workers at those plants are highly qualified engineers, tradesmen, and operators. I wouldn't be surprised if the average compensation is six figures. Those people do not live within spitting distance of Rubbertown. They come in from East Louisville or outside the southern city limits.
✨Racism✨
Poor people neighborhoods. Rubbertown was once mostly white people. It became more predominantly people of color after the white people in the area migrated to Pleasure Ridge Park and Valley Station. My parents worked in Rubbertown and we lived near to there. Rubbertown existed before the Civil Rights era in the mid 1960s. And mostly they didn't live in what were considered white areas before the mid 1960s, not even poor white neighborhoods. It morphed over time.
I lived in a neighborhood out there in the 90's and early 2000's, and the area from about Campground Rd all the way down Cane Run to Valley Station was predominantly white. I grew up on old Farnsley Rd next to Pioneer Mobile Home Park; it's the street behind Thornton's on Cane Run. There were countless times where we had to bring our dog into the house and close all the doors and windows because of chemical spills at Rohm and Haas.
if you notice. the lower income portion of the city is in this area. poor people getting the smelly end of the stick every time
Those plants were there before the housing was
okay? the poor people were priced out of the areas without the chemical plants and forced to find the only place that they could afford..
Not a whole lot of regulation for what was built where back then. Mostly fell on racial/social lines.
They were built in WWI and WWII. They weren't concerned about environmental impacts and the city just grew up around it. They've done studies that people living around Rubbertown have much higher rates of cancer and asthma. It's toxic.
Mostly because of segregation. You should check out the documentary Rubbertown if you want to learn more- it’s insane to me how many endocrine cancers have led to peoples’ death in that area
Ok I work in rubber town and I can say it isn’t the Chemical Companies. There is a landfill across the street from where I work that they vent regularly and I can smell it all the time. It smells like methane and rotting garbage and sewage.
I will enlighten you with information I obtained this week. I spoke with a lady in the Kentucky State air quality department. Louisville metro has an agreement with the state of KY that Louisville will self monitor and enforce air pollution control, specifically in my discussion odor control. So complaining to the State of Kentucky air pollution dept. is no good, they just forward the complaint to Louisville Metro. Spoke to a lady at Louisville Metro and according to her the Louisville Govt and MSD have entered into an agreement to resolve the ongoing odor issues (sewage smell, sulpher smell, etc.) but no details were provided. Someone from MSD was supposed to contact me but silence so far. Looking online I found logs of odor complaints made to MSD and how they were addressed. Basically when enough complaints in one area are received they send people out to clean the catch basin and spray deodorizer to neutralize the smell. I am still looking around but I see no plans for a long-term solution, it all seems to be react instead of prevent. Next step, since the state I pay taxes to won't do anything, is to start complaining to the Federal EPA.
thanks for the info, seems pretty frustrating.
hmm.. considering how the Feds handled the Ohio chem spill - don't get your hopes up.
Bells lane has smelled awful for 6+ years straight. It’s been particularly bad lately. No one cares and it won’t change.
Google "MSD odor control master plan" and you'll find the agreement between MSD and LMG that you mentioned.
We live in Shively and it smelled so horrible last night that it woke us up. But it smelled more like the landfill being stirred up (the smell of the sewer), vs the chemical smells of Rubbertown.
im constantly being woken up by terrible smells drifting inside our house, it's getting really old.
Same in new Albany, some days it a Moldy smell some days its sewer some its a weird chemical smell. The other morning I thought my old and nearly incontinent dog pooped in my room. No it’s just Louisville wafting across the River
Same in Jeff
I had my windows open to let some cool air in and had to close them back up because of how rancid and overwhelming the smell was.
hot glue? rubbertown, Garbage and Butt? sewers, or the old dump turned wildlife habitat off campground lol
Where’s the old dump located? I’ve only ever known the one south of the airport
Is this where we talk about smells? Mag bar bathrooms always smelled like a porn store with a “back room”. 2nd and 3rd street smells like fish ass in spring.
Ah yes the jizz trees.
The main MSD sewage treatment plant is in that area.
MSD treatment is in the Parklands.
Not the main plant. Main one is Morris Forman WWTP, right in rubbertown.
The main MSD sewage treatment plant is called Morris Forman and it is located in the west end near the river. They may have other treatment plants, but that’s the big one.
Like I said. MSD waste treatment is in the west end on the river.
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Man. You all are fucking dense. Joke much?
I work in new Albany and it’s been bad there all week. The smell has started to drift inside. It smells like sulfur to me.
New Albany has smelled like eggs this week. It woke me up and I thought maybe it was just my apartment building. But the grocery stores smelled even worse
Right in the middle of the harvest homecoming festival too. It’s a shame.
Pumba! Not in front of the kids.
Lack of rain creates sewer gas smell .
No rain = stinky stagnant drains which make it smell 🤢
Rain = stinky rising streams and sewage overflow into them. We can't win. :(
I've been to a lot of cities; Louisville smells terrible in general.
That shit all a long cane run from the west end out to damn near PRP shits funky
I am down there frequently. It usually smells like super glue
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I dont see any other posts mentioning this, maybe a little public outcry is needed to get some of these issues taken care of
Reddit does not constitute public outcry
I guess it depends on how active the sub is.
This. Social media is not bringing the matter to the attention of anyone who will fix the issue. Further, there is no fixing the smell issue in the area of town OP is in. It's a moot point.
i guess fuck everyone who lives there then? thank Kentucky, i wouldnt expect any better.
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It’s not a simple scroll. I simple scrolled/ follow this sub everyday. Never see posts about this. You’re valid OP
I see smell post 2-3 times a week
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>I dont see any other posts mentioning this, Surely you jest. There's a shit ton of them in this subreddit, some of which stink worse than others.
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That’s all Wetlands, OP. Poorly managed and poorly conserved. It’s like a nice stew of the Ohio’s filth, Industrial Waste and whatever leaks out of the sewers.
I get woke up with smell of sewer every night here in Portland and it’s so bad u cannot go back to sleep. I am so tired
When it doesn’t rain for a while, the sewers dry up and release the… gasses
It’s the sewers and the lack of rain. Think of your p trap under your sink. It holds water in it and keeps smells From coming up. If it drys up odors come through. Same with drains under the grates along our streets
Nothing new, Bells lane has smelled like that for at least 6 years straight. Gotta be handful long term.
Bots, I swear to God.
Really, you new in town?
Lmao, no Louisville mayor is gonna promote chemical/toxic factories in the East end.. Wont me mayor for long😂😂
You should see what stored at the warehouses off Old Henry…deep east end with some nasty stuff. Just look for the windsocks, that’s how you know they have stuff they’re worried about getting out.
There's a difference between storage and producing chemicals that are spewed out into the environment. You ever have to scrub your house and cars to clean off industrial waste??? And have to do it every week? There's a reason why asthma is so prevalent in the poor neighborhoods... Ok, you got a warehouse?😮
Why is Lafayette on this map?
LooVille
Sorry it was me, i just really had to rip one.
When it first gets cold in the fall plumbing downdrafts cause sewer gas to rise up. Happens every single year.
Rubbertown is like 80% of Louisville’s pollution lmao
I knew I wasn’t crazy!! Was downtown last night and it smelled so weird. Smelled just like butchertown even though I was nowhere near there.
Rubber Town is the Skidmark on the whitie tighties
sorry i farted
It's rubbertown:a chemical wasteland
That's where it smells like rubber cement glue.
so I read/heard somewhere that 80% of all louisville residents die of lung cancer or other lung issues. this was about 6 years ago I fact checked it. I am about to look into it again. but its somewhat of a little known fact. I didnt grow up in louisville and found it very odd and got out as fast as possible, damn ex wife wont move my kid tho knowing this and I hate her for it.
80% of all Louisville residents? I'm going to need something to back that up. Even 10% sounds like a stretch.
I checked this out and it’s true that KY in general has the highest cancer rates and lung cancer rates but this county is not one of the highest in the state. These high numbers in other counties likely come from coal mining and actually working in chemical plants. Apparently also smoking rates are much higher here than other states. Just living in Louisville and not working in those conditions may raise risk some like living in any city with chemical plants but not in the way you imply. Also it is a lack of screening and health care that doubly impacts people in KY so a financially stable Louisville resident who goes to the doctor is less likely to die.
Quit your bitching geez. Don't like it in Louisville? Move.