What stinks in Louisville? Nobody nose

City odor detectives have been sleuthing around Louisville for several days, trying to figure out what smells like a wet musty carpet.

The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District has received a few dozen calls across a widely dispersed area, with residents complaining about a mildewy odor.

"We are doing our best to try to figure out what it is," said Tom Nord, spokesman for the air district.

Officials don't believe the odor presents a health hazard.

In addition to calling the air district, some residents have been asking their representatives on the Louisville Metro Council.

"Nobody has been able to pinpoint it," said Councilwoman Madonna Flood, D-24th District.

Flood said the odor may have an organic source stemming from the recent changes in the weather — with the heavy snow and cold and then the weather warming before freezing again.

"They are working on it," Flood said of the air district.

Flood and her colleagues said there have been reports in various areas of Louisville, including the Interstate 65 corridor, Bardstown Road, National Turnpike, Dixie Highway and Dixie Manor.

Calls to the air district's hotline suggest the odor has been from I-65 east, along the Watterson Expressway, as far east as Prospect, Nord said.

He said the district has received as many as 40 complaints of the same odor, most since Tuesday. The odors have not come from areas that are normally linked to bad smells, such as Rubbertown in western Louisville or JBS Swift in Butchertown, he added.

Field inspectors have been roaming the city, and engineers have been combing through industrial permits, in an effort to discover the source.

"Either we will figure it out, or the odor will go away, and there's a strong possibility we will never figure it out," he added.

Reach reporter James Bruggers at (502) 582-4645 or on Twitter @jbruggers. Reach reporter Sebastian Kitchen at (502) 582-4475 or on Twitter @writeonsk.

Air pollution hotline:

•502-574-6000