The leafy south London neighbourhood of Herne Hill is a haven for cyclists who can often be seen lapping the local parks and refuelling at the many cafes that line the suburban streets.
asserted
that → see → streets
But there is something foul in the air of this corner of the capital – and for once it’s not the traffic fumes hitting bicycle riders.
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it → be → riders
A toxic stench thought to be caused by untreated sewage stuck in Thames Water drains has been emanating from the subterranean depths for months, most likely caused by the summer’s lack of rain.
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stench → think → rain
The stink is so acrid that the Bicycle Nation shop has had to bar some customers and its mechanics have been forced to work on the pavement outside.
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mechanics → have → pavement
The owner of the shop, Tamas Polocz, has repeatedly complained to Thames Water since the smell first hit the shop in June and caused his colleague Nick to vomit.
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colleague → complain → June
Last week the troubled water company told Polocz it accepted that a mains sewer directly beneath the shop was to blame, but it has yet to offer him and his team of 11 any date for resolving the problem.
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it → tell → problem
Polocz and his colleagues have been left fearing for their physical and mental health after repeated exposure to the gassy stench.
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Polocz → leave → stench
The odour comes in putrid wafts that occur at least five times a day, according to a “smell chart” used to log the time and duration of each incident with a description.
uncertain
that → come → description
The words used include “cabbage”, “teargas”, “onions”, “spicy BBQ” and repeated references to “shit”.
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words → use → shit
When the Guardian first arrived at the shop there was a whiff of rotten eggs but not enough to stop mechanics working inside and customers milling about.
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Guardian → arrive → mechanics
But within minutes we were overpowered by a repulsive gas that hit the back of the throat and left us scurrying outside, gagging for air.
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that → overpower → air
“It’s unbearable,” said Polocz.
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Polocz → ’ → ?
“You can’t be in the shop when it comes.”
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it → come → shop
He added: “It has a really strong physical presence.
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It → add → presence
This is a smell you take home with you.
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you → take → you
It’s in your hair, on your skin, sometimes it feels it’s inside your skin.
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it → ’ → skin
When you go home and cough, you taste it again.”
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you → go → it
The ordeal comes after record-breaking temperatures and drought prompted calls for a radical overhaul of an outdated sewage system, just as the Great Stink ushered in new sanitation in the Victorian era.
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Stink → come → era
Thames Water initially suggested the Herne Hill smell was due to a gas leak.
uncertain
smell → suggest → leak
But extensive tests by the local gas supplier ruled that out.
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tests → rule → that
Polocz said he had been battling the company every week.
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he → say → company
“Thames Water have always tried to push me away, or blame others.
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Water → try → others
When they finally accepted liability last week I just broke down.
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I → accept → liability
But we still don’t have a date for fixing it.”
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we → have → it
The exact cause of the stench remains unknown, but a Thames Water engineer told Polocz it was likely to be linked to the lack of rain.
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it → remain → rain
The engineer also told him that a cast-iron ventilation pipe that had previously drawn odours away from the shop had not been replaced.
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that → tell → shop
Experts warn that during dry periods, untreated sewage builds up in pipes with no rainwater to flush it out.
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sewage → warn → it
Microbial activity in the sewage causes foul-smelling gas to be emitted in wafts, in a similar process to the one that causes flatulence in human digestion.
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that → cause → digestion
Prof Barbara Evans, the chair of public health engineering at Leeds University, said: “It sounds like methane and it’s probably unsafe working conditions.
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it → say → methane
Biological processes are cyclical just like in your digestive system, which is why sewer smells come in wafts.”
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smells → come → wafts
When Polocz woke up to rainfall, he was hopeful it would flush away the stench.
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it → wake → stench
“I looked out through the window at home and thought, oh good, but it didn’t make any difference.
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it → look → difference
Maybe the rain will eventually clear it, but we don’t know.
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we → clear → it
Something is happening down there that is pushing the smell up.”
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that → happen → smell
Evans said: “The first flushes of rain will probably make things smell worse because it just stirs things up.
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it → say → things
It needs a lot of rain to clear.
asserted
It → need → rain
There might be some blockage there but it’s impossible to know without a proper inspection.”
uncertain
it → ’ → inspection
Harriet Talbot, a board member of Bicycle Nation, said: “You can’t run a business relying on the weather.”
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You → say → weather
She helped set up a webpage asking for customers to sign up for a collect and repair service to help the shop survive.
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shop → set → service
Polocz said the shop was currently unsustainable because staff had to evacuate so frequently.
asserted
staff → say → ?
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
