# What was that stench on I-95 in Georgia? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006 "2014-03-31T17:55:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/1 "2014-03-31T17:55:15Z")
Late Saturday evening, driving northbound, and treated to an aroma that seemed to be some odd combination of rotting sulfur and dead things. Not quite “downwind from the sewage plant” but in that league, unpleasantness-wise. This was around mile marker 74 (I glanced at it just after my prayers for death went unanswered). I also glanced over to the left (west) and saw a plume of smoke and a brightly lit large structure in the distance that made me think “power plant”. Was the power plant responsible? I’ve never noticed an aroma like that associated to a power plant. Or was it just “eau de swamp”? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/2 "2014-03-31T17:57:57Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Late Saturday evening, driving northbound, and treated to an aroma that seemed to be some odd combination of rotting sulfur and dead things. Not quite “downwind from the sewage plant” but in that league, unpleasantness-wise. > > This was around mile marker 74 (I glanced at it just after my prayers for death went unanswered). I also glanced over to the left (west) and saw a plume of smoke and a brightly lit large structure in the distance that made me think “power plant”. > > Was the power plant responsible? I’ve never noticed an aroma like that associated to a power plant. > > Or was it just “eau de swamp”? Zombies from _The Walking Dead_ production set? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/3 "2014-03-31T18:06:11Z")
I don’t know precisely where you are talking about, but my guess is papermill. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/4 "2014-03-31T18:14:14Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I don’t know precisely where you are talking about, but my guess is papermill. Yup. According to Google Maps, there’s a paper mill just W. of I-95 in Riceboro, which is exit 67. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/5 "2014-03-31T18:23:32Z")
What is it about paper mills that makes them smell so badly? I remember being in Berlin, NH (where there is a large one) years ago and being horrified at the stench. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/6 "2014-03-31T18:25:07Z")
We have one south of there here in Jax-haven’t smelled it in years tho thank Og. “Ooh that smell! Can’t you smell that smell!?” ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/7 "2014-03-31T18:38:02Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > What is it about paper mills that makes them smell so badly? I remember being in Berlin, NH (where there is a large one) years ago and being horrified at the stench. Sulphuric acid used to produce pulp is the culprit. International Paper had a mill in Franklin, VA, and on days with high humidity and wind from the northwest, I could smell it from 25 miles away in my former little corner of NC… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/8 "2014-03-31T19:25:14Z")
95 has tons of paper mills. Usually, for some reason, on the most scenic little stretches. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/9 "2014-03-31T21:15:07Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Late Saturday evening, driving northbound, and treated to an aroma that seemed to be some odd combination of rotting sulfur and dead things. Not quite “downwind from the sewage plant” but in that league, unpleasantness-wise. Nearby gaming convention? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/10 "2014-04-08T02:08:59Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Nearby gaming convention? Nah - I don’t think anyone was having that much fun 😃 I’m going with the paper mill - the mile marker sounds right and I’ve heard that indeed those do reek to high heaven (or low hell)! ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/11 "2014-04-08T02:17:41Z")
Yep, definitely a paper mill. My father used to refer to them as “fart factories.” ---
**Author:** ![keturah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e95f7d/32.png) [@keturah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keturah)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/12 "2014-04-08T03:13:29Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > We have one south of there here in Jax-haven’t smelled it in years tho thank Og. “Ooh that smell! Can’t you smell that smell!?” The wind has to blow just right here in Jax! ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/13 "2014-04-08T04:24:29Z")
Ugh. Paper mills. I suppose they kind of HAVE to be out in the middle of nowhere. Do employees get used to the smell or do they have to wear masks? (Idle curiosity) ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/14 "2014-04-08T05:05:33Z")
> [@Sarabellum1976](#): > > Ugh. Paper mills. > > I suppose they kind of HAVE to be out in the middle of nowhere. Do employees get used to the smell or do they have to wear masks? (Idle curiosity) We get used to the smell. But our cars never get used to it, so [the paper mill I worked at](https://www.google.com/maps/@32.773857,-83.63418,3a,75y,101.7h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s9O5vDT8Vg8fgcNbf8mH2Dw!2e0!6m1!1e1)had a free car rinse station on the way out of the parking lot to get the crud off so it didn’t eat the paint off entirely. I worked in an office in the mill building itself and it wasn’t long before I could eat in there no problem. Sulfuric acid is one thing they use, ammonia is another. Every time they unloaded a rail car of ammonia it reminded me to change the kitty litter when I got home. Work clothes were dedicated work clothes b/c that smell never comes out of them. And the shoes lived in the garage, they didn’t come in the house. Paper mills are where the trees (round stock) are so it’s cheaper to get the raw material in, that’s why they wind up stinking up pretty places. Older ones are near rivers as well. Invariably they have train tracks going through them and those are frequently in less-populated places. ---
**Author:** ![Lydia\_Phalfav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Lydia\_Phalfav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lydia_Phalfav)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/15 "2014-04-08T05:51:17Z")
What’s weird is I smelled the same thing a couple miles from my house & the only thing industrial in the area is the local quarry & only for a week & a half. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/16 "2014-04-08T15:53:08Z")
Probably Interstate Paper. They’re a small, independant mill producing 900 tons per day of unbleached kraft. The highway is very close to their 800 acres of lagoons where the wastewater is treated before being discharged. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/17 "2014-04-09T01:48:08Z")
If you’re in Georgia, if it’s not a paper mill, it’s a chicken house, or maybe a leaky chicken guts tanker. ---
**Author:** ![micadw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@micadw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micadw)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/18 "2014-04-09T07:35:42Z")
My Aunt lives across the hwy from that plant. It is in Rincon/Jesup Ga. It smell awful. She has been there for 38 years. She doesn’t even notice it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/19 "2014-04-09T11:57:16Z")
The plant itself has hardly any smell normally, but at certain times of the year the treatment lagoons can get a bit whiffy. Eau de swamp as it were. Now down in Jesup there’s a Rayonier facility that makes dissolving pulp, which is more of a chemical feedstock than a paper product. Because that uses a pre-cook acid hydrolysis to remove hemicellulose it has an unusual odor for a pulp mill, but I wouldn’t describe it as a stench. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-that-stench-on-i-95-in-georgia/685006/20 "2014-04-09T15:17:02Z")
Nope, sorry. The Rayonier plant’s emissions are definitely a stench. When I was a little kid, we’d go fishing at the coast, leaving home at Very Dark o’Clock. Breakfast was always at the Franklinia in Jesup, and Daddy never had to wake us up: the smell did the trick. And the smell is definitely paper mills, not chicken houses. There’s the Rayonier in Jesup, Union Bag (not anymore, but that’s what us locals call it, I think it may be Weyerhauser now) in Port Wentworth - near Rincon, plus the one down near Riceboro, and one more near 95, I think. Maybe down around Camden County. They’re all about 45 miles apart. And they all stink. Chicken houses have their own distinctive funks, worse IMO than the mills, but usually not as widespread as paper mill farts - a couple of hundred yards of stench, versus several miles.