TOWNVILLE, S.C. -- A couple in Oconee County said Tuesday that hundreds of phone books were dumped in their back yard, and health officials said the books could be a health hazard.

“We have steam at night and it comes in and it just stinks so bad,” said Bobbie Rogers.

The Rogerses said it is not just the stench creeping into their house that is a problem. They said mold and acid from the ink used in the phone books also seeped into their house, causing headaches and respiratory problems.

A report from an Oconee County health inspector said the phone books could cause health problems.

The Rogerses said they estimate 600 books dating back to 1999 are buried in their back yard.

The damp, moldy phone books were discovered 3½ years ago, and since then the Rogerses have been trying to get their landlord to move them, they said.

“She told my husband several times she was going to move them, get them taken away,” said Bobbie Rogers. “She hasn’t done a thing.”

FOX Carolina tried to talk to the landlord about the problem. She said she was under no obligation to move the books.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, however, said otherwise. They said the landlord has been cited for illegal dumping and has a few weeks to fix the problem.