Citizens of a town of 1,400 souls in New Brunswick, confined to their homes due to the smell of rotting shellfish coming from a factory, plead with the authorities
to find a solution at the dawn of a sixth summer locked up.
“It smells like the devil. Sometimes it’s worse than others. Sometimes it smells like burnt lobster water. Other times, it gets mixed up in the sewer and you run for your life,” said resident Arina Hébert, 54, who lives half a kilometer from the plant, in an interview with The Globe and Mail THURSDAY.
The pestilential smell that would make life difficult for Richibucto residents is said to come from a shellfish waste drying plant, the Coastal Shell Products plant, which opened in 2016.
Over the years, the unbearable smell, which would even encrust the interior of homes via the drains of bathtubs and sinks – in addition to forcing the authorities to block sewer holes – has already led to seven lawsuits, an ongoing provincial public safety investigation as well as a “Stop the Stink” petition with 1,900 signatures, according to the English-language media.
“You have to hold your breath and run to your vehicle. You can’t stay outside. You’re going to vomit,” illustrated nurse Claudette Robichaud, who lives 400 meters from the plant, in Globe and Mail.
And despite a reduction in the hours of operation of the factory, which can now only operate between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., the smell is said to continue to poison the air of nearby residents, including students. of a primary school.
“There are days when it’s really bad. You almost want to choke. I am not asking them to close forever, but they must move where there is no population or put in place a system to repress the smell, ”insisted Christian Poirier, father of two seven-year-old twins.
Faced with repeated requests from its citizens, the mayor of Beaurivage would have turned to the various levels of government to claim between $1.5 and $2 million for the company to buy equipment to put an end to the smell.
“The smell that comes out of this factory must stop,” said Arnold Vautour according to the English-language media. It’s not acceptable.”