FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- An unwelcome odor from a landfill is prompting health authorities to take action on behalf of a Findlay Township elementary school.

Residents said the landfill has always smelled, but teachers at Wilson Elementary School in Findlay Township's Imperial neighborhood said there were two weeks in February and every day so far in March that the smell has been overpowering and they want it fixed.

WTAE Channel 4's Jon Greiner reported that more than 100 people attended Wednesday night's town meeting on the Allied Waste landfill in Findlay Township. Among them included teachers from Wilson, which sits next to the landfill, and parents who are hesitant to send their children to the school.

"Now, I'm very afraid. I'm telling you I'm afraid to send her to school," said Jennifer Greene, a parent. "I can't control this and I want to know what they're going to do to fix it and control it."

They're afraid the odors are hazardous and they have concerned about unhealthy gases drifting from the landfill.

"If it's not fixed, shut the dump down. What does it take for the safety and health of the people who live in this community?" said Holly Smith, a teacher at Wilson.

Tim Nytra, a representative for Allied Waste, cited problems with gas extraction wells and pumps that normally carry gases away but haven't been performing well over the past few months.

"Right now, we're in the process of replacing wells that haven't been as they should have been ... because some of those wells have been flooded out and we're installing eight new wells," Nytra said.

Nytra said the company will also install new filters in the school's ventilation system. Representatives of the county health department and the Department of Environmental Protection said they're going to issue two notices of violation against the landfill including one for air quality.

"We would hope that, by the end of that, they are willing to enter into a consent agreement as to what they need to do and have some time frames in which to get it done so that we can assure that by the time we're into early summer, we have a very good plan moving forward to get these things under control," Allegheny County Health Department Director Bruce W. Dixon said.

Dixon said that if the company doesn't fix the issue, the county can force the company to do so. However, Dixon said he doesn't believe there are any health dangers.

A citizen's advisory committee was formed to address the matter.