LAS VEGAS -- People working next to a Nellis area chemical recycling facility say they are plagued with nausea, headaches and stomach pain on a daily basis.
"It smells like gasoline, like paint," said Javier Valparico who works at the nearby Concrete Systems Inc. which is located near Cheyenne Avenue and Lamb Boulevard.
"It's just nasty. You get nauseous to your stomach after a while. Luckily enough, I don't spend that much time in the yard," said Jacob Weddle, also an employee of Concrete Systems Inc.
The business they are referring to is H20 Environmental. The company is a 24-hour hazmat response service.
Concrete Systems manager Dave Worley describes the smell as a mixture of gas, solvents, diesel and excrement. "You go home noxious every night, sore throat, headaches, stomach ache."
The odor seems most noticeable early in the morning when there's no wind.
The I-Team left messages for the facility's management and did get a call back from company president Patrick Heyneman. He said, he would not be answering any questions, adding that he was concerned the I-Team would, "just twist his words around." He even refused to give the spelling of his last name.
H20 Environmental moved to its current location after bankruptcy court restructured the company last year.
"Right now, they're permitted as a recycling center," said Dennis Campbell who manages solid waste for the Southern Nevada Health District. "They bring in material, process it, store it, and ship it out to another solid waste management facility."
The health district says much of that material is taken from restaurant grease traps. Because it's a new location, H20 Environmental has a temporary operating permit. Health district officials say they do not know exactly what chemicals are stored on site and H20 doesn't publicly list them.
Health district inspectors have been to the site more than a dozen times. Inspectors say they have rarely smelled the odor, but they also don't have extensive air quality testing equipment.
"They've sealed them off with vinyl covers, supposed to be tight-fitting covers, trying to control the odors," Campbell said.
Since the I-Team began it's investigation, H20 Environmental put, what appears to be, duct tape on their chemical tank seals.
"Duct tape and plastic. There should be metal flanges on it with gaskets and bolts," Worley said.
The fix appears to be working, for now. Neighboring employees say they're getting fewer headaches and less nausea. They just hope this potential fix isn't as temporary as the facility's temporary operating permit.
The health district says H20 Environmental is filing for a permanent operating permit. They have until September to prove fumes from their facility aren't making neighbors sick.
