North-end Moncton residents attempt to clear out chemical smell from city sewer project

Bermont LeBlanc is fed up with the smell that has permeated his home in Moncton’s north end.

It’s become so unbearable that he’s rented an industrial fan to try and force the chemical smell out of his home on Mecca Drive.

“It was so strong you could taste it. The smell was so bad,” said LeBlanc.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was so strong you could taste it. The smell was so bad," said LeBlanc.

READ MORE: City blames smell permeating Moncton’s north end on sewer project

The City of Moncton says that the glue-like smell is coming from a resin adhesive used in a sewer lining project that began near the westbound Wheeler Boulevard on-ramp last week.

“There is not really a way of preventing it because it is the curing of the pipe,” said Alcide Richard, Moncton’s director of design and construction.

But that isn’t a comfort to the residents who have to live with it.

“My house smells like a body shop,” said Derick Smith.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "My house smells like a body shop," said Derick Smith.

Although the city says the smell isn’t a public-health risk, residents say it is affecting people’s health.

“My wife has had headaches and has not been feeling good. My stepdaughter has had headaches and feeling nauseous since they started doing it,” said Smith.

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Residents say the smell is seeping into their clothes and furniture, and even more concerning for father Don Goodin, who says the smell has begun seeping into his son’s bottled water.

LeBlanc, his wife and two kids stayed in a hotel over the weekend after they started feeling ill from the fumes. They refuse to return home until the smell is gone.

“Any kind of exposure to a resin or glue it not healthy,” said LeBlanc.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Any kind of exposure to a resin or glue it not healthy," said LeBlanc.

Moncton says it is sending plumbers to people’s homes to try and pinpoint how the fumes are getting inside.