Blue-green pool of bubbling ooze in Troy raises toxic concerns from neighbors

TROY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A greenish-blue ooze coming from the ground in Troy has residents complaining of a foul odor and worrying it might be toxic.

"It is like you opened up a septic tank, raw fecal matter, is what it smells like," said George Salem.

The slimy substance can be seen near John R and Long Lake. 

"Nothing stinks like this, nothing stinks like this," said Salem.

"It is a slime and it's been bubbling for a couple of months now," said Sherri Karabelski.

Neighbors who live on Avery Street say that for years this has been an open area with a small house on it. But not too long ago, the land was sold, and a single-family home development is going up. 

"They dug out the pond, took the debris from the pond, filled a hole over here and around the property, and buried it," said Salem. 

FOX 2 spoke to the fire marshal who told me that they did investigate, tested, and determined that the stink was not "IDLH" which means it's not Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health. The translation is, it could be another issue.

Digging a little deeper, FOX 2 then contacted the developer. 

"We don't have anything to hide, we will work with everyone involved," said Joe Maniaci, Mondrian Properties over the phone.

Neighbors did contact EGLE, the state environmental agency, and they said they would look into it. 

"The odor is just overwhelming. I've got to stay away from it," said Karabelski.