By Matt Leingang
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Donna Jones breaks into a coughing jag on the Eighth Street Viaduct connecting Lower Price Hill to downtown. Jones, president of the Urban Applachian Council, suffers from asthma aggravated by strong smells from nearby paint shops and other plants. She is concerned with air quality issues in and around Lower Price Hill. The Cincinnati Enquirer/MICHAEL E. KEATING

LOWER PRICE HILL - Donna Jones calls it a "toxic soup," the acidic-smelling, pungent odor that drifts across her Lower Price Hill neighborhood with varying degrees of intensity.

When chemical fumes from nearby paint shops and other industrial plants get extreme, the 48-year-old woman won't go outside. It aggravates her asthma.

Residents here say the air was cleaner in the 1990s when Cincinnati had an odor-control program that gave city environmental workers the authority to force businesses to reduce their emissions.

But City Council repealed the air-quality program in 2002 during a budget crisis, ending what was believed to be the toughest air nuisance code among major U.S. cities.

Now, a debate is heating up about whether to relaunch aspects of this odor-reducing program that many residents say had a huge effect on their quality of life.

At the urging of a City Council committee, Health Commissioner Malcolm Adcock began meeting in December with a 30-member task force of residents and business leaders. He is expected to present several options to City Council in April.

The odor program, known as Title X, was a quality-of-life ordinance, allowing the city to go after businesses that emit smoke, odors and dust into nearby residential neighborhoods - creating a public nuisance for people who live there and, some argue, threatening their health and safety.

Cincinnati businesses - from paint shops to water treatment plants - were fined a total of $235,000 for creating odor and dust nuisances while Title X was in effect from 1991 to 2002. Companies were required to use the money to buy new air-control equipment or alternative fuels.

The city also kept about 20 percent of the pot to pay for neighborhood air monitors and other environmental projects.

Popular with environmental activists, but derided by some business owners as unnecessary regulation, the ordinance addressed air quality concerns not covered by state or federal pollution laws.

Generally speaking, these foul-smelling emissions were considered insignificant by state or federal pollution standards but were bothersome to residents.

But when City Council faced a $35 million budget deficit in 2002, it eliminated the Office of Environmental Management, which enforced Title X. With no agency to give the ordinance any teeth, council members repealed it.

To bring it back, the city would need new enforcement staff. One proposal is to have the Cincinnati Health Department fill that role, costing the city perhaps as much as $150,000 for new employees.

And that could be a hangup. To do the job, Adcock said, the health department needs resources.

Mayor Charlie Luken, who could veto reinstatement of Title X, said last week that he is against it because of budget constraints.

Another option - which costs no money - is to have the Hamilton County Department of Environment Services be the lead enforcement agency against odor complaints in the city. But the county does not have authority to take action beyond what is contained in less-stringent state air codes.

Complaints go on

The Ohio Valley recently received another "F" rating by the American Lung Association because of its numerous highways and coal-burning power plants - there are four in Hamilton County and surrounding ones. These emissions produce nitrogen oxides, a key component of summertime smog.

But while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has policies to police major pollutants, it's the chemical emissions and those from smaller factories that fall through the regulatory cracks, some Cincinnati residents say.

Since Title X's 2002 repeal, odor complaints have continued - 101 in Cincinnati last year.

Most of these complaints came from neighborhoods like Lower Price Hill, Winton Place, Carthage and North Avondale, which are clustered around factories and waste sites, and have long histories of pollution problems. Complaints typically involve factory smoke emissions, mysterious odors and strange particulates in the air.

There is bitter disagreement, however, between residents and business owners about whether these complaints are just aesthetics or actually pose health risks.

Various studies have been inconclusive. For example, a 2000 U.S. EPA study said that the air quality in Winton Hills was not good but comparable to many other urban areas in the country. The study, among other things, measured 65 organic compounds, including benzene and styrene.

"We don't need the city to hammer us over the head with this issue," said Edward Paul, president of Queen City Barrel Co., which employs 90 people at its Lower Price Hill site. "When residents have an odor complaint about our company, we try to work it out and be a good neighbor."

In 1995, foul odors from Paul's company - a drum recycling plant - forced Lower Price Hill Community School on St. Michael Street to close early for the day. About 60 students were sent home after they complained about swelling in their eyes and throats

'Be a good neighbor'

The business community, in general, opposes a restoration of Title X, said Doug Moorman, vice president for government affairs with the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.

"You don't have to look hard to make the case that this hurts the city's ability to retain jobs, especially manufacturing jobs," Moorman said.

Yet to Carl Evert, a resident of Pleasant Ridge, it's that kind of "cavalier" attitude toward the concerns of low-income populations that is hurting the city.

"The people at the Chamber of Commerce don't live near these plants. They don't have to put up with this stuff day after day," said Evert, a retired University of Cincinnati professor.

Evert credits Title X with helping to enforce a waste lagoon cleanup at the former Noveon Hilton Davis pigments plant near his neighborhood. The plant produces colors for pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages.

Proof that some of these emissions are harmful already exists, Evert said.

In June 2000, an air-sampling program under Title X discovered the presence of acetaldehyde, a carcinogen, coming from Givaudan Flavors Corp. on Edison Drive in Carthage. Givaudan is a developer of flavors and fragrances used in everything from soup and sauces to ice cream and beverages.

Givaudan agreed to install new equipment on its chemical-drying machines, the source of the problem. A subsequent investigation by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency resulted in an $81,000 fine against Givaudan for emitting acetaldehyde and failing to keep its environmental permits up to date.

Representatives from Givaudan could not be reached for comment.

Residents are simply asking that these businesses and operate responsibly, Evert said.

"Be a good neighbor, do it right and we'll all get along," Evert said.

E-mail mleingang@enquirer.com