Local

Powerful odor from warehouse overwhelming neighborhood

ATLANTA — Neighbors say a strange smell from an abandoned battery warehouse is overpowering the community and may be responsible for health issues.

Residents near Allene Avenue in Atlanta's Capitol View neighborhood told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri that someone opened windows at the abandoned building on Wednesday morning and the smell and symptoms started immediately.

"The smell was so horrible that my eyes was burning my throat was itchy," one woman said. "I saw that these windows were open in this building. When I came to the front door it was more pungent."

Her home sits next door to the facility. Others in the area have also complained of itching eyes and sore throats.

"It was just weird. It's a weirder smell like a gas mixed with… it was just different," neighbor Kristin Consuegra said.

Atlanta City Code Enforcement officers posted a sign on the front door of the building in August stating the conditions are unsafe and unsanitary.

Firefighters came to the property on Wednesday and could not find the source of the odor.

"If you have a battery plant that's been closed for 12 years and then you open it up you should come around and notify your neighbors. This is an environmental issue," a neighbor said.

Code Enforcement officers told Napier Viteri it's unclear who opened the building and they have opened an investigation.

"I really hope they get it fixed. It kind of makes me a little angry," Consuegra said.