Rotten egg smell blankets Philadelphia area
The Philadelphia skyline (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire it wasn’t.
Authorities say the acrid odor of rotten eggs that wafted over Philadelphia has sent utility crews searching for a source.
The foul odor first was reported to dispatchers at Philadelphia Gas Works around 9:30 p.m. Friday and complaints about the stench then flowed into the city’s 911 system. Some calls even were received from neighboring Bucks County.
About 90 minutes later, city officials determined the smell was caused by a kind of sulfur-based additive. They say it isn’t dangerous.
WCAU-TV reports that officials say too much of the chemical was used at a plant in South Philadelphia.
PGW and area oil and gas refineries are investigating but tell WCAU-TV that so far they haven’t found what caused the smell.
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