‘It’s unacceptable’: Lowering toxic gas levels must be top priority, Kalamazoo leaders say

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Kalamazoo city commissioners are increasing the urgency of their words while speaking about handling potentially dangerous pollution around the city's Northside neighborhood.

Vice Mayor Don Cooney said on Monday, May 15, that air quality issues should be at the top of the city's agenda.

"This is a public health emergency," Cooney said at the commission meeting. This comes one week after a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services report said the air observed in part of town represents a hazard, via the Graphic Packaging International paper mill and the city wastewater treatment plant.

"It's unacceptable people in our community live in this kind of condition. We have to find a way to deal with this," Cooney said, drawing some applause from the small crowd in the commission chambers.

Consistently breathing in levels of hydrogen sulfide exceeding 1.4 parts per billion can lead to chronic health problems.

Concentrations of gas throughout the communities next to the industrial facilities regularly exceed 1.4 parts per billion, MDHHS said. For example, the average level was about 19 parts per billion for the year of 2020 at a sensor at Gull and Riverview.

Commissioner Stephanie Hoffman told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette she is glad the report has finally been released and residents will have a chance to hear from officials about the toxins permeating the community.

She lives in the neighborhood near the wastewater plant and Graphic Packaging.

"I did not need a report to inform me of the issues," Hoffman said. "I’ve been living on the Northside of Kalamazoo since 2018, and have personal experience with the physical effects since I purchased my home."

Cooney noted how the report shows the air quality can cause stress and make existing asthma more severe, and noted children are at a greater risk of health effects from pollution.

We need to build a coalition to focus on the issue, Cooney said.

"People are regularly almost continuously subjected to this punishing odor and whatever else it does to their system," he said.

One of the recommendations from the state was -- if you smell the odor, stay inside. Another recommendation was learn to manage your stress, Cooney said, paraphrasing parts of the MDHHS report.

"I think those are the wrong answers," Cooney said. "I think this puts everything on the people.

"I think the answer is stop the pollution," he said.

Related: 10 takeaways from state investigation into Kalamazoo's air pollution

The city has a responsibility, commissioners said, because it is their wastewater treatment plant and the city gave tax breaks to Graphic Packaging. Both facilities are documented sources of toxic hydrogen sulfide gas.

Graphic Packaging International at 1500 N. Pitcher St. in Kalamazoo, on May 12, 2023. The paper factory sits adjacent to residential areas in Kalamazoo where dangerous hydrogen sulfide has been found.

Several other commissioners spoke on the MDHHS.

Commissioner Esteven Juarez hopes the community shows up for the town hall, hosted by the MDHHS at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 120 Roberson St. People can ask questions and hear from state health and environmental officials.

"When the people of Kalamazoo start coming together ... in fighting against these things that are unjust, there could be like true transformation," Juarez said.

Mayor David Anderson said he has lived north of downtown and raised his daughters there. The odor has been talked about for decades, he said, and the negative effects were not discussed as much in the past.

The city's response to this will be a high priority, Anderson said. He mentioned some of the ways the city is working on the issue.

Related: Kalamazoo rerouting factory waste to target stinky toxic gas near homes

"This commission is committed and concerned," Anderson said.

The city of Kalamazoo's wastewater treatment plant on Sept. 16, 2022. This is the building that houses the sludge, and where trucks pick up the stinky substance to transport it offsite.

Hoffman told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette after the meeting she wants the local government to work to resolve the issue now.

"We have a responsibility to do something now while further investigation continues at the state level," Hoffman said. "We cannot allow the bureaucracy to hinder us in our local response to bring relief to our residents."

The MDHHS flyer for a townhall meeting on May 18. Residents can ask questions about the air quality study recently completed by the state.

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