The Santa Fe Springs Fire Department said it started receiving calls about a strong smell on Saturday afternoon. They determined that the smell was coming from a waste water treatment facility at the south end of the city.
It's a haunting stench that people say they just can't escape.
"It's smells real bad. It's uncomfortable working here," said Nestor Lamadrid, who works in Santa Fe Springs.
More than 100 911 calls were made about the smell in the last 48 hours from around Santa Fe Springs, Pico Rivera and Whittier -- and the phones are still ringing.
Crews took air samples and found that there was no hazard to humans or the environment. They are working with the facility's personnel in an effort to reduce the smell during the marine layer weather period this week.
Authorities say the smell is typically dissipated with the weather, but because there was a strong marine layer this weekend, the smell was kept low to the ground and drifted to a nearby neighborhood.
The smell is expected to last for another day or two, or until the weather pattern changes, officials said.