The "Aroma of Tacoma", also known as the Tacoma Aroma, is a putrid and unpleasant odor associated with Tacoma, Washington, United States. [1] The smell has been described as similar to the odor of rotten eggs. [2] The odor is not noticeable throughout the city, but is rather concentrated in the Tacoma Tideflats and is frequently smelled by motorists traveling that section of Interstate 5. [2]
The odor has been commonly known by the name "Aroma of Tacoma" since at least the early 1940s. However, there are instances of the word "aroma" being associated with Tacoma dating back to 1901 when local resident George Francis Train penned a civic cheer: [3] [4]
Seattle! Seattle! Death Rattle, Death Rattle; Tacoma! Tacoma! Aroma, Aroma!
A variety of causes have been attributed to the Aroma of Tacoma, including sediment in Commencement Bay, sulfur released from the Simpson Tacoma Kraft pulp and paper mill, [5] [6] a rendering plant, the U.S. Oil refinery, or a combination of all of these factors. [2] In 1997, the odor was exacerbated for several weeks after municipal officials unsealed a sewage tank that had not been opened in 15 years during the height of a stretch of humid weather. [7] By the early 2000s, the odor had been lessened, but not eliminated, after the Tacoma Kraft pulp and paper mill installed new combustion technologies. [8] The WestRock paper mill closed in September 2023. [9]
The Aroma of Tacoma has been cited as the reason behind jokes about Tacoma, once frequently made by residents elsewhere in Western Washington. [10] Research in 2003 suggested the Aroma of Tacoma had contributed to a long-term depression of housing prices in the city. [11] Journalist and author Timothy Egan called it "one of the longest lasting nicknames in the Pacific Northwest" and used it as an example of the many consequences of environmental destruction along Puget Sound. [12]
During a concert stop at the Tacoma Dome in the mid-1980s, Bruce Springsteen reported the odor was so overwhelming that he was forced to leave town early. [2] [13] A local doctor said the noxious fumes were unhealthful. [13] The EPA said the smell was due to total reduced sulfur emitted by the downtown paper mill (1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the Tacoma Dome). [13]
In the 1960s, Jim Torrence and Don Lemon with Diamond Jim and the Jazzmasters released a 45 rpm novelty single titled "The Aroma of Tacoma." [14]
A rugby tournament held since the 1970s is called the "Tacoma Aroma", [15] as well as a hip-hop band from the Tacoma area. [16]
The Pacific Science Center held a symposium called "The science behind Tacoma's Aroma" in 2011. [17]
The 1979 Frank Zappa song "Jewish Princess" mentions a "garlic aroma that could level Tacoma".
Tacoma is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Seattle, 36 miles (58 km) southwest of Bellevue, 31 miles (50 km) northeast of the state capital, Olympia, 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Mount Rainier National Park, and 80 miles (130 km) east of Olympic National Park. The city's population was 219,346 at the time of the 2020 census. Tacoma is the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area and the third-most populous in the state. Tacoma also serves as the center of business activity for the South Sound region, which has a population of about 1 million.
Pulp is a fibrous lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically or mechanically producing cellulosic fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemicals or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw material used in papermaking and the industrial production of other paper products.
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a strong odor obtained from a gland of the musk deer. The substance has been used as a popular perfume fixative since ancient times and is one of the most expensive animal products in the world. The name originates from the Late Greek μόσχος 'moskhos', from Persian mushk and Sanskrit मुष्क muṣka derived from Proto-Indo-European noun múh₂s meaning "mouse". The deer gland was thought to resemble a scrotum. It is applied to various plants and animals of similar smell and has come to encompass a wide variety of aromatic substances with similar odors, despite their often differing chemical structures and molecular shapes.
Methanethiol is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CH
3SH. It is a colorless gas with a distinctive putrid smell. It is a natural substance found in the blood, brain and feces of animals, as well as in plant tissues. It also occurs naturally in certain foods, such as some nuts and cheese. It is one of the chemical compounds responsible for bad breath and the smell of flatus. Methanethiol is the simplest thiol and is sometimes abbreviated as MeSH. It is very flammable.
The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 56,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Weyerhaeuser Company is an American timberland company which owns nearly 12,400,000 acres of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional 14,000,000 acres of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a century. It operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT).
Canfor Corporation is an integrated forest products company based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
William Booth Gardner was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previously served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 26th district from 1971 to 1973 and served as the Pierce County Executive prior to his tenure as governor. His service was notable for advancing standards-based education and environmental protection.
The kraft process (also known as kraft pulping or sulfate process) is a process for conversion of wood into wood pulp, which consists of almost pure cellulose fibres, the main component of paper. The kraft process involves treatment of wood chips with a hot mixture of water, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and sodium sulfide (Na2S), known as white liquor, that breaks the bonds that link lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. The technology entails several steps, both mechanical and chemical. It is the dominant method for producing paper. In some situations, the process has been controversial because kraft plants can release odorous products and in some situations produce substantial liquid wastes.
The recycling of paper is the process by which waste paper is turned into new paper products. It has a number of important benefits: It saves waste paper from occupying homes of people and producing methane as it breaks down. Because paper fibre contains carbon, recycling keeps the carbon locked up for longer and out of the atmosphere. Around two-thirds of all paper products in the US are now recovered and recycled, although it does not all become new paper. After repeated processing the fibres become too short for the production of new paper, which is why virgin fibre is frequently added to the pulp recipe.
The Port of Tacoma is an independent seaport located in Tacoma, Washington. The port was created by a vote of Pierce County citizens on November 5, 1918. The Edmore was the first ship to call at the port in 1921. The port's marine cargo operations, among the largest in the United States, was merged with the Port of Seattle's in 2015 to form the Northwest Seaport Alliance.
Bleaching of wood pulp is the chemical processing of wood pulp to lighten its color and whiten the pulp. The primary product of wood pulp is paper, for which whiteness is an important characteristic. These processes and chemistry are also applicable to the bleaching of non-wood pulps, such as those made from bamboo or kenaf.
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses, or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through a fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed on the surface, followed by pressing and drying. Although paper was originally made in single sheets by hand, almost all is now made on large machines—some making reels 10 metres wide, running at 2,000 metres per minute and up to 600,000 tonnes a year. It is a versatile material with many uses, including printing, painting, graphics, signage, design, packaging, decorating, writing, and cleaning. It may also be used as filter paper, wallpaper, book endpaper, conservation paper, laminated worktops, toilet tissue, currency, and security paper, or in a number of industrial and construction processes.
The Tasman Mill site is a pulp and paper mill located on Fletcher Avenue just outside the town of Kawerau in New Zealand. The Tasman Mill site is the largest single employer in the Eastern Bay of Plenty region. Three pulp or paper companies previously operated in Kawerau: Norske Skog operated the mechanical pulp mill and newsprint paper mill; Oji Fibre Solutions, formerly Carter Holt Harvey, operated the kraft pulp mill; and SCA who manufacture tissue and base paper.
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.
The environmental effects of paper are significant, which has led to changes in industry and behaviour at both business and personal levels. With the use of modern technology such as the printing press and the highly mechanized harvesting of wood, disposable paper became a relatively cheap commodity, which led to a high level of consumption and waste. The rise in global environmental issues such as air and water pollution, climate change, overflowing landfills and clearcutting have all lead to increased government regulations. There is now a trend towards sustainability in the pulp and paper industry as it moves to reduce clear cutting, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and clean up its influence on local water supplies and air pollution.
The Simpson Investment Company is a company based in McCleary, Washington in the US Pacific Northwest that specializes in manufacture of forest products. Founded as a logging company in 1890 by Sol Simpson, the company now functions as a holding company for the Simpson Door Company, a manufacturer of wood doors.
Smelly socks are socks that have acquired a foul odor due to prolonged wearing on feet. Their odor, which is complex and remains the object of study, is a mixture of ammonia, fatty acids, and lactic acid.
Digital scent technology is the engineering discipline dealing with olfactory representation. It is a technology to sense, transmit and receive scent-enabled digital media. The sensing part of this technology works by using olfactometers and electronic noses.
Rumford Mill is a pulp mill and paper mill located in the United States town of Rumford, Maine. The mill has two kraft pulp lines and three paper machines. The mill produces 460,000 tonnes of kraft pulp and 565,000 tonnes of paper annually. The mill has 621 employees as of 2016. Now owned by ND Paper LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Limited, the mill is now known as ND Paper–Rumford Mill.
Tacoma's paper mill, located at the mouth of the Puyallup River, is well known in local lore as the supposed source of the "Aroma of Tacoma," the putrid odor that once permeated the city. According to Elizabeth Korsmo, curator for the Tacoma Historical Society, as early as the 1930s people were complaining about the foul stench, and the mill's role in creating it.