A LUOHU District resident took to the air recently to try to find the source of an offensive smell affecting residents of the housing estate where he lives.

He chartered a helicopter to take aerial photos of 20 jewelry factories surrounding the housing estate to try to find out where the smell was coming from.

The resident of Bolin Housing Estate, who calls himself "Stepping into Bolin," posted the photos on the Internet, marking their locations numerically.

Bolin residents say they have been putting up with the stench for years, a Daily Sunshine report said yesterday.

The report said residents suspected the No. 2 and No. 24 factories of being the source of the stink. The photos were submitted to the district environmental protection bureau for further investigation.

It was good news for a Bolin resident named Zhou.

"I suffer the smell every day," she said. "It (the smell) makes me feel sick. Even staying at home with the door and windows shut, I can find no way to keep it out."

An official with the Bolin management office surnamed Zhang confirmed Zhou's complaint.

"The smell is so irritating that it often make me choke," Zhang said. "As far as I know, most residents here feel the same."

Homeowners addressed a petition to the municipal environmental bureau seeking help in October last year but the polluter was not found, Zhang said.

"So they have to take action to defend themselves," she said. "Many have taken photos."

A spokesman for the Luohu District Environmental Protection Bureau surnamed Wang said the bureau would install surveillance cameras in the area to collect evidence against the polluters.

Shuibei, Wanshan and Teli industrial zones, which surround the Bolin Housing Estate, have become a hub for jewelry manufacturers over the years with some 70 jewelry factories operating there, Wang said.

"Jewelry production can result in the discharge of an acidic smell," he said. "I guess it is a headache for Bolin residents."

(Mu Zi)