Cleveland Air Enforcement Probes Odor Reports Spanning Lakewood and West Park

Cleveland air quality regulators are trying to identify the source of a chemical odor reported by residents across Lakewood and parts of Cleveland since late October.

Roman Fedorko, chief of air pollution enforcement for the Cleveland Division of Air Quality, said his department has logged more than two dozen formal complaints about the smell between Lakewood and Cleveland since Oct. 22. Investigators visited the affected areas on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The source of the odor remains unidentified.

Sheari Connor filed a report with the county last week after smelling the odor on Oct. 21 while taking her children to school. Connor described the smell as pungent and leathery, like melting leather mixed with chemicals. Her son, who has asthma, told her it hurt his lungs. Connor said she had noticed the smell on and off before but not as strongly. She posted about it on social media after the county did not respond to her report.

Complaints also reached Lakewood Councilman Matt Bixenstine, who said calls began arriving Thursday evening and continued into Friday. Most came from the Birdtown neighborhood in east Lakewood, with additional reports from other parts of the city and from the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland. Bixenstine said he has been in contact with the Division of Air Quality about the reports.

The division operates a 24/7 hotline for residents to report odors, and Fedorko said the next step is to follow up with people who filed formal complaints. After that contact, three to four air sampling canisters will be distributed to residents so the division can collect data and test for the source of the smell.

Bixenstine said most reports have come during evening and overnight hours, and he urged residents who smell the odor at those times to call so investigators can gather real-time data. Complaints can be filed with Air Quality Enforcement at (216) 664-7442. Connor said she wants confirmation that no toxic chemical is present in the neighborhood. Fedorko said his department has not identified where the odor originates.