Headaches, breathing problems and nausea: Ipswich residents ‘physically sick’ from foul stench

Ipswich residents are reportedly waking up each morning with headaches, sore throats and nausea which they say is caused by a foul stench covering their homes.

Thousands of people south of Brisbane are dealing with a stench so thick some say they can taste it.

The stench affecting areas of Ipswich including Redbank Plains is understood to be coming from nearby landfill and waste sites and has intensified by last month’s heavy rainfall.

It is reportedly causing some locals to suffer from pounding headaches, breathing problems and nausea.

Concerned mother Brenda Hennessy, who lives in Redbank Plains, said her nine-year-old daughter has had to miss school for the last few weeks due to her symptoms.

“She is prone to ear, nose and throat infections from being premmie, however the last few weeks, it’s [been] almost impossible to get her to school as they can’t take kids that are ‘symptomatic’,” Mrs Hennessy explained.

“She’s been suffering from terrible allergy-like reactions, sinus pain, sniffles, headaches, tummy aches and really red watery eyes.

“She has been at Byron Bay for the last four days with family and almost immediately [has] felt better.”

Brenda Hennessy pictured with her daughter Ava.

Raymond Moore, 60, from Collingwood Park claimed the smell affected him so badly that he was recently taken to Ipswich Hospital with breathing difficulties.

“There has to be something done,” he said.

“This is affecting our health.”

Since 2018, Ipswich residents have registered more than 14,000 complaints on an odour hotline run by Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science.

It is unclear what exactly is the cause of the stench, however the Department of Environment and Science (DES) has stated that it’s currently carrying out daily inspections of Cleanaway’s New Chum facility.

Raymond Moore was recently taken to hospital.

“DES is continuing daily inspections at Cleanaway to ensure the company addresses odour issues at its New Chum landfill site to reduce the impacts to the local community,” DES said in a statement.

DES added the latest air quality monitoring samples at Cleanaway New Chum landfill had not identified the presence of air pollutants that could impact on human health.

“The formal investigation by DES on the odour issues from the site remains ongoing.”

A Cleanaway spokesperson said following recent rainfall across southeast Queensland, the New Chum landfill — like other waste facilities in the local area — was facing the significant challenge of a residual odour being emitted from the site.

“Immediately following the rain event and subsequent inundation of the New Chum Landfill, Cleanaway started working to urgently address the issue,” they said.

“The Queensland Department of Environment and Science officers have been on site regularly and we are keeping DES fully informed of our activities and mitigation strategies.

“A number of solutions have been identified and Cleanaway is implementing them as a priority.

“These include the installation of several large-scale deodorisers, aerating and dousing the body of water with sodium hypochlorite to reduce the odour, and removing the water offsite.”

Ipswich residents say an odour thought to be from Cleanaway’s New Chum site is causing them health issues.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding has welcomed the DES’ investigation into the matter.

“It’s a relief to see DES escalating their investigation and increased inspections of waste operators in the Swanbank and New Chum area – but this means nothing if the community [doesn‘t] see an improvement,” she said in a statement.

“DES is responsible for investigating and responding to community concerns about odour, dust and other environmental nuisances.

“It’s apparent that the recent conditions including rainfall and flooding have exacerbated this issue as much of the many thousands of tonnes of flood impacted waste locally and from neighbouring local government areas is coming here to be disposed of.

“However, community odour reports have increased since before the recent rainfall and flood events.”

Meanwhile, Samantha Stiles from Collingwood Park said: “I have left the area for the time being and staying with family.

“I was waking every morning with migraines and was feeling generally fatigued and unwell. On the days it was really bad my throat would burn and I’d get hives.

“Ever since staying with my mum I sleep through the night fine and all the other symptoms have gone and I have been feeling amazing.”

Others have taken to social media to complain.

“After over a week of having the house completely closed up, I opened every window today, dying for fresh moving air,” a Bundamba resident wrote.

“Tonight, I’ve thrown up twice and my head is pounding. The stink is so thick, I can taste it.”

Meanwhile, a Redbank resident who just moved to the area said she noticed a “bad smell” almost immediately.

“It just hits you the moment you go outside,” she said.

“It smells like burnt hair.

“I noticed in local Facebook groups that [residents] would talk about the smell, which made me realise this is an ongoing issue.”

Originally published as Headaches, breathing problems and nausea: Ipswich residents ‘physically sick’ from foul stench