In LADY’S ISLAND, S.C., new residents of the Telfair area hoped for a tranquil place to reside, yet now they’re overwhelmed by a terrible odor they struggle to define.

“Putrid. Putrid is the smell,” said Gordon Jones, a resident in the Telfair neighborhood.

A nearby neighbor, Anthony Jenkins, added on, “It smells stank. Awful.”

And the stench is spreading to several neighborhoods within a two-mile radius of the Barnwell Resources landfill.

The Department of Natural Resources confirmed the smell is hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas with a ‘rotten egg’ smell.

They said it’s being released because of excessive rain eroding soil covering the buried trash.

“I’ve been here for 11 years and never encountered anything like this,” shared Jones. “Some mornings, stepping outside almost makes me sick due to how intense the smell is.”

Residents said it’s the most ‘stinky’ in the early morning hours and later in the evening, and it’s gotten worse in the last year.  

Brenda Rupert, who lives near the landfill entrance, said, “The smell has gotten much worse recently. We can’t enjoy the outdoors, play with our grandkids, or have a cookout. Even indoors, when the smell is bad, you just want to leave.”

It’s not just an annoying odor outside, residents said it’s also creeping indoors.

“When you open the doors, the stench comes in with you,” said Jenkins.

Nearby neighbor, Jones, said the same.

“We were running our small window unit and we started noticing that the whole downstairs just reeked,” he said.

Many residents said they also recently started having health issues.

They’ve reported headaches, nausea and more.

Rupert added, “The smell causes coughing, sore throats, fatigue, and heightened anxiety. It’s impacting our health—including our pets, who develop persistent rashes and irritation.”

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said low exposure to hydrogen sulfide can cause irritability, asthmatic symptoms, and headaches.

High levels can be more extreme.

They explained that it’s rare for landfills to produce high levels, and even more rare to move offsite at high levels.

The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services released a statement:

To tackle this issue, the landfill is replacing the cover soil, using blankets and barriers to manage runoff, and planting seeds to stabilize the area. This approach aims to tackle odors linked to hydrogen sulfide. New equipment has been acquired specifically for this task, with efforts continuing through the weekend to resolve the issue.

Landfill workers patrol the site and nearby neighborhoods during early morning and late evening hours to detect any odors and evaluate the success of their ongoing measures.

SCDES staff are increasing the frequency of observations at the facility. Independently, we also are riding around the facility and adjacent neighborhoods in the morning and evening and noting areas where odors are detected. We’ve requested that the facility voluntarily begin monitoring concentrations of hydrogen sulfide. 

We’re maintaining close communications with the facility. If odors persist once the erosion issues are fully addressed, additional actions will be implemented.”