South Seattle neighborhood’s mysterious stench traced to potential source
Nov 24, 2025, 6:31 PM
A foul smell has been plaguing the South Park neighborhood in South Seattle.
Residents sent in complaints to the Puget Sound Air Agency that there was a sulfurous, rotten egg stink in the area, KIRO Newsradio reporter Luke Duecy explained on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio Monday.
“It was so strong that people were getting kind of nauseated, they were headachy. They didn’t feel well,” Duecy said.
The complaints were in the window of late September to early November. However, residents told Duecy the smell actually got worse in the summer when it was hot.
“A couple people told me, ‘It’s not so bad.’ Others said, ‘It is horrible, absolutely horrible.’ But obviously, it was enough,” Duecy said.
The Puget Sound Air Agency investigated and found out the smell was hydrogen sulfide. It was linked to Gypsum to Gypsum, a recycling center in Seattle that processes recycled drywall to produce gypsum products.
Duecy noted the investigation is ongoing.
“That means they’re still looking into it, not that this company has done anything wrong, necessarily,” he said.
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
