Try sprinkling baking soda around, wait a few minutes then vacuum.

i will try that today and let you know how that goes, thank you.

i sprinkled baking soda around and left it overnight and vacuumed the next day, it seemed to make little difference. the room does smell better when there's a lot of wind and cross ventilation, but when the windows are closed it gets bad pretty quick. do you think an area rug would cover up the outgassing? or should i put in hardwood floors?

What are the carpet and the underlay made of?

If the odor in the carpet has not dissipated in a year, it's not going to. And I can't see how area rugs would help.

For the sake of your health, move out of that apartment.