Hershey is the chocolate capital of Pennsylvania but Hometown has become the sweetest place for folks to breathe.

Truth is, some of the population would be happy to relinquish that distinction.

The air, they say, has become too sweet. Some of the 1,400 residents, particularly those of the northeast section of the village, live near Tidewood Industrial Park and its industries.

And that's where there seems to be a certain odor wafting through the air.

The specific smell has been described as perfume, or what some call heavy vanilla or a permeating floral scent.

They claim the smell can be detected up to three miles away, but is particularly strong in the residential neighborhood anchored by Cumberland Avenue.

The problem has become so prevalent that residents are beginning to consider it a nuisance and, even worse, a suspected health hazard.

Township supervisors were alerted to the situation at an April 19 meeting, at which point resident Denise Hafer said the odor forces her to close her  windows.

"It has infiltrated my house to the point that it burned my eyes," she said.

Resident Heidi Kubert is hoping the township can take appropriate measures, perhaps establish an enforceable nuisance odor ordinance to protect air quality.

"According to my research, this sort of regulation is fairly common," she said. The township referred the complaints to the state.

Around the same time, leaflets of anonymous origin were distributed to Hometown mailboxes. They're from "a lifelong resident who prides oneself on being ethical, caring and genuinely concerned for the well being of our area, its residents and Mother Nature."

The orange-colored flyers name a specific manufacturing plant as the suspected culprit. The large, well-known firm produces trash bags, including scented ones.  

"Their manufacturing process includes the operation of dilution blowers to discharge interior plant air into the outdoors so the employees are not bothered by the fragrant chemical additives," states the flyer.

The flyer also claims that the Department of Environmental Protection awarded permits to the plant to install equipment with the intent that the discharged air would contain the odor within perimeters of their Hometown property.

If that's the case, the current equipment is failing to meet the requirement and nearby residents are paying the price.

The reality is that a problem exists and the strong smells are concerning.

In fact, I can attest to the issue myself.

I moved to Cumberland Avenue nearly 10 years ago, at a distance of about two blocks from the industry in question. Strong smells intensified over the past several years, with a distinct perfume smell supplanting a previous odor of hot plastic.

It's time for DEP's Bureau of Air Quality to investigate and take whatever steps are necessary to safeguard the health of Hometown residents.

It's important to ensure that the goals of the federal Clean Air Act and the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act are applied to the current predicament.

In the meantime, concerned or affected parties should express their thoughts or observations to the DEP Complaint Hotline, 570-826-2511.

Hometown is already a sweet place. It doesn't need added chemical fragrance.

Instead, it could use a few hefty, hefty, hefty measures to return to pure, fresh air.  

By Donald R. Serfass    tneditor@tnonline.com