Dead Rats Stink Up Orlando Airport

Dead rats are stinking up a portion of Orlando International Airport, and the smell has workers crying foul. Construction crews renovating gates earlier this month scared the rodents into the airport, the Orlando Sentinel reports; exterminators followed, and after rats died in walls and ceilings the stench sent workers and passengers home sick and shut down a customs checkpoint.

Customs officials say employees cannot work under such conditions and that the airport is not doing enough to resolve the ongoing issue. Airport officials removed the carcasses, sprayed pesticides and cleaned with harsh chemicals, to little avail. While a spokeswoman insists the rats pose no health threat, others warn that the insects and droppings associated with rats could be dangerous. (More Orlando stories.)