Neighbors say business making Henderson neighborhood smell

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The Clark County Division of Air Quality reports 111 complaints, all about one Henderson business. Neighbors in the Black Mountain Ranch area say a nearby commercial plant often makes their neighborhood smelly. Some compare it to dryer sheets.

“Two or three times this afternoon, came and went, came and went, came and went,” recounted Michael Vlaovich, President of the Black Mountain Ranch HOA when FOX5 visited the neighborhood.

“It is just more of a perfume as matter of fact. We have an air conditioning service guy here the other day and he thought I was wearing perfume,” Vlaovich revealed. Sometimes the smell is so intense, people are forced inside.

“They get raspy throats and everything from it,” Vlaovich claimed.

Vlaovich said it’s been going on for about the last two years and believes the smell is coming from the nearby Poly-West plant.

“They make scented garbage bags,” Vlaovich shared. Vlaovich tried to go to the business near I-11 and Nevada State Drive to ask what chemicals might be in the air but no luck.

“We would like to know what is in the vapors we are breathing… A neighbor and I tried to drive over there so we could see if we could talk to somebody directly, but we couldn’t get past the guards at the gate... If you try calling unless you know an extension or you know who you are calling, there is no live person you can talk to,” Vlaovich shared.

Clark County Division of Air control has been inside and told FOX5:

Since 1 September 2020, our Division of Air Quality has received and investigated 111 complaints about Poly West. One complaint was substantiated as an odor nuisance and lead to a notice of violation (NOV). We issued a second NOV as a result of a Full Compliance Evaluation for the time period of 2 November 2018 – 5 November 2020. We found Poly West was using scented pellets in their extruders, which was an unpermitted activity.

The dates those NOVs were issued are 25 November 2020 and 9 December 2020. The Division of Air Quality entered into a settlement agreement with Poly West, who agreed to install and operate a Recuperative Catalytic Oxidizer to control odor-causing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the facility at a cost of approximately $650,000. They also paid a reduced penalty of $5,832.

In April of this year, our compliance officers conducted a walkthrough of the Poly West facility and detected an odor on the roof of the facility. Poly West was issued a written warning for inadequate odor control and was asked to respond with a comprehensive plan to address the concerns cited in the warning.

Our compliance officers performed a follow-up walkthrough on 1 June 2022 and observed the concerns were being addressed by Poly West. They were asked to provide monthly progress updates with their plan to the Division of Air Quality, which they have obliged. Poly West is currently in compliance with all air quality regulations and is operating within the parameters of the air permit.

In 2021, our Compliance Section conducted 776 stationary source inspections. We continue to respond to all complaints received—resolving more than 99 percent within the first 24 hours. For further information on what constitutes an odor violation, please refer to Section 43 of our Air Quality Regulations: Odors in the Ambient Air.

But Vlaovich says the smell still wafts into his neighborhood and he wants it gone for good.

“I’d like my wife to be in a good mood again because she is very sensitive to the smell... She won’t go outside... If it wasn’t for the odor, I don’t think we would have a concern,” Vlaovich contended.

FOX5 also tried reaching out to Poly-West but their phones locally go unanswered. We then sent an email to their corporate office. As of this report, we have yet to hear back.

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