Residents in south Fulton and north Fayette counties fed up with being sick and finding no help from their county governments filed a class action law suit Monday over illnesses they say were caused by the onion-like smell of Propyl mercaptan coming from the Philip Services Corp. waste treatment plant on Ga. Highway 92. To date, more than 225 say they are sick or have been since the smell began weeks ago and nearly 800 have signed a petition demanding immediate action.

Filed in Fulton County Superior Court by Atlanta attorney Scott Zahler, the suit contains counts such as negligence on preventing the release of Propyl mercaptan, nuisance by endangering the health of the general public and in violation of local ordinances and punitive damages, according to court documents. Contacted Monday, Zahler explained the reason for the suit.

The suit names plant owner Philip Services Corp. (PSC) and Propyl mercaptan maker AMVAC Chemical Corp. and others that may bear legal responsibility. PSC was named as the facility that received the wash water containing less than 0.1 percent Propyl mercaptan and as a facility that stores, transfers and treats hazardous waste. Water wash is generated after an empty container is washed and the contents sent for treatment. AMVAC, located in Axis, Alabama, is named as having transported multiple shipments of MOCAP pesticide wash water (containing less than 0.1 percent MOCAP) to the PSC facility. Propyl mercaptan is a component ingredient of MOCAP and is responsible for the onion-like smell experienced by residents. Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) had originally indicated that the Propyl mercaptan wash water came from a Bayer plant in Alabama. Court papers cited AMVAC.

The suit cites the various health problems experienced by residents after exposure to the odor emanating from those shipments. AMVAC’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) on MOCAP water wash states that symptoms of acute exposure and overexposure to MOCAP water wash include headache, nausea, difficulty breathing, eye and respiratory tract infection and skin irritation.

More than 225 south Fulton and north Fayette residents say they have been sickened by the sporadic but unrelenting smell of Propyl mercaptan during the past several weeks. While varying by individual, those illnesses include claims of first-time diagnoses of asthma, several cases of pneumonia and each of the symptoms and conditions listed in the AMVAC data for overexposure and acute exposure of MOCAP water wash. Many have sought medical attention for the illnesses to their families.

In what seems to many as an eternity in a land where county lines continue to blur, it was north Fayette resident Connie Biemiller that began an impromptu petition drive nearly two weeks ago to see if others besides her family were suffering from symptoms that began after the now familiar smell of onions entered their life. To date, Biemiller has amassed nearly 800 signatures of residents from both counties who are demanding action from local governments. That action began Wednesday at a public meeting at Bethany United Methodist Church with calls from Fulton County Commissioner Bill Edwards to shut the plant down until concerns about the plant could be answered.