My husband and I bought our…

My husband and I bought our house 2.5 years ago. We thought we had found our forever home and that we would raise our children here. We have a large yard with a swing and garden beds, we love spending time outside. However, the persistent smell coming from the Bunge plant has caused us to seriously reconsider our decision to live here. (We are currently looking at other neighbourhoods with a realtor). The smell is similar to boiled beans on a good day, and can be very intense and unpleasant on a bad day. The smell comes anywhere from 1-4 times in a week. On some days the smell is so intense it gives me a headache, though this has only occurred about 4-5 times since we have lived here. We have two children, age 2.5 years and 5 months, and there are days when I bring the children inside to play because the smell is so strong. I worry about the children breathing the air when the smell is present. I don’t know if the smell is safe to breath, I am concerned about the health of my children being negatively impacted by breathing the smell from the Bunge plant that always comes into our backyard. We have been hesitant to invite family or friends over for BBQs and outdoor events because we worry the smell will occur that day and people will not have a good time or that they will just leave due to the intensity of the smell, which has happened. Often I make play-dates at other parent’s homes rather than inviting friends with children over for outdoor play-dates because of the smell. I have called in multiple complaints to the ministry but these do not seem to result in changes to the smell’s intensity or frequency. I’ve talked with neighbours who don’t enjoy the smell but who don’t seem to think there is anything they can do to change it, they just accept the unpleasantness of it as being part of the neighbourhood. I like so many great things about our neighbourhood, I would very much like to be able to enjoy the air as well. Thank you.

[Original Comment ID: 215799]