Aroma of Tacoma
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The "Aroma of Tacoma", also known as the Tacoma Aroma, is a putrid and unpleasant odor associated with
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...
, United States. Tacoma is located in the western part of the state, in Pierce County. The smell has been described as similar to the odor of rotten eggs. 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 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
.


History and origins

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: A variety of causes have been attributed to the Aroma of Tacoma, including sediment in
Commencement Bay Commencement Bay is a bay of Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. The city of Tacoma is located on the bay, with the Port of Tacoma occupying the southeastern end. A line drawn from Point Defiance in the southwest to Browns Point in ...
, sulfur released from the Simpson Tacoma Kraft pulp and paper mill, a rendering plant, the U.S. Oil
refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...
, or a combination of all of these factors. 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. By the early 2000s, the odor had been lessened, but not eliminated, after the Tacoma Kraft pulp and paper mill installed new combustion technologies.


Local impact

The Aroma of Tacoma has been cited as the reason behind jokes about Tacoma, once frequently made by residents elsewhere in
Western Washington Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington state west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. T ...
. Research in 2003 suggested the Aroma of Tacoma had contributed to a long-term depression of housing prices in the city. Journalist and author
Timothy Egan Timothy P. Egan (born November 8, 1954) is an American author, journalist and op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times'', writing from a liberal perspective. Egan has written nine books. His first, ''The Good Rain'', won the Pacific Northwest ...
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 Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
. 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. A local doctor said the noxious fumes were unhealthful. The EPA said the smell was due to total reduced sulfur emitted by the downtown paper mill ( from the Tacoma Dome).


Popular culture and public science

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''. A rugby tournament held since the 1970s is called the "Tacoma Aroma", as well as a hip-hop band from the Tacoma area. The
Pacific Science Center Pacific Science Center is an independent, non-profit science center in Seattle with a mission to ignite curiosity and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking. Pacific Science Center serves more than 1 million people e ...
held a symposium called "The science behind Tacoma's Aroma" in 2011. The 1979 Frank Zappa song " Jewish Princess" mentions a "garlic aroma that could level Tacoma".


References


Further reading

* *{{cite news , last=Scaff , first=Kate , title=Take a whiff of Tacoma's new aroma , publisher=Business Examiner Media , archive-date=August 16, 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816060621/http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/October-2013/Take-a-whiff-of-Tacomas-new-aroma/ , location=Tacoma , date=October 3, 2013 , url=http://www.businessexaminer.com/blog/October-2013/Take-a-whiff-of-Tacomas-new-aroma/ Odor Tacoma, Washington Interstate 5