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Mount Olive residents frustrated by lingering foul odor

Mount Olive residents say they are frustrated by a foul odor lingering over the town.

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MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. — Mount Olive residents say they are frustrated by a foul odor lingering over the town.

"It almost smells like a turkey house, or manure," Tammie Strickland said. "When I'm coming to work, I have to come by the pickle plant and it is just awful."

Lynn Williams, a spokesperson with the Mount Olive Pickle Co., said the smell is ammonia, a byproduct of the plant’s waste treatment process.

Williams said the smell is usually minor, but an over-accumulation of storm water cause the odor to overflow.

"Because of the winter we've had, it has created some more underlying issues that have been a little more difficult to remedy," she said. "That got our system out of balance, and it's taking time to get that ammonia waste under control."

Williams said she is aware residents are upset.

"We realize that it has been an inconvenience to the folks who live around us," she said. "Depending on how the wind blows around town, everyone has had a dose of the smell. We do apologize for that."

She said the smell could last another several weeks until the company is able to fully fix the problem.

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