Local people have complained over the foul smells from the tip

Contractors cleaning toxic waste dumped at the Penrhos site near Caerphilly are paying for a masking agent to hide the smell from the tip.

Complaints from people living nearby have been made after unpleasant odours were released during the clear up.

Walters UK who are clearing the site say that spray will neutralise smells.

During the 1950s and 1960s, tonnes of chemical waste including cyanide and acid drums, was dumped at the 60-acre Penrhos site.

They are made up with the essence of naturally occurring essential oils which neutralise the smells Dave Thurfield, Walters UK

There are now plans to create a housing development with leisure facilities once the site has been made safe.

But the clear-up has caused problems for local residents, who say that the smells are overpowering.

Karen Pearce who lives nearby said it was "very smelly".

"Some days it is worse than others but on bad days you can't open the windows," she said.

"I can't wait for them to finish what they are doing up there."

One of her neighbours, who did not want to be named, said the smell was "absolutely terrible".

"It is absolutely disgusting, it seeps into the house even when the windows are shut," she said.

"It is a horrible smell, really overpowering. It makes me worry about what I am breathing in," she said.

Hundreds of complaints were made to Caerphilly Council about the smell so the contractors cleaning the site decided to buy a special deodoriser to disguise the odours until the work is completed.

Dave Thurfield from Walters UK said that two special sprays were being brought over from Canada and Australia to mask the smells.

"They are made up with the essence of naturally occurring essential oils which neutralise the smells," he said.

Mr Thurfield said that a special consignment of the product was due to arrive on Friday.

The spray will neutralise smells like a household air freshener

"The sprays are made up of natural extracts from plants, trees, flowers and fruits and has the ability to neutralise smells," he said.

"At the moment we have cocooned the area where there are bad smells until we get the spray and are working on other parts of the site.

"It seems to only take a tiny amount of the waste to give off a heck of a pong, so when we go back to work on that area we will spray constantly to try and stop the smell.

"The sprays will neutralise the smells so it won't make the area smell of pot pourri - although I think that maybe some people living nearby would prefer that," he joked.

He said that the company were happy to buy the sprays to try and stop the smells.

"We accept that the smells are a nuisance and we are very embarrassed and sorry about it."

Over the last few months about 100,000 tonnes of waste have been removed from the site and it is hoped that the clear up will be completed by the end of July.

Site redevelopment

Caerphilly Council hope that the odour neutraliser will help stop the smells which are not said to be dangerous to human health.

Councillor Paul Ford, cabinet member for the environment said that various types of waste were disposed at Penrhos such as inert matter and waste from industrial processes including chemical drums.

"The redevelopment of the site will remediate the contamination making the land suitable for commercial and housing use," he said.

"Unfortunately the most recent excavations of waste on the site have generated an odour problem causing a substantial level of complaint from residents in the vicinity and resulting in the developer ceasing work in the area of concern."