Free Republic

NOW that the mystery smells of Manhattan have abated, are you still wondering whether the Grim Reaper’s cologne will smell like maple syrup or rotten eggs when he comes for you? Don’t worry, because here’s the thing: the more powerful the stench, the less likely it is to do harm. Indeed, the smell that’s typically associated with natural gas is deliberately put in to warn you of its otherwise odorless presence — you’ll call Con Edison before it all goes bang. In this case, it is not the thing that smells that will harm you, but the thing that doesn’t...

Who cut the cheese? New Jersey, apparently. Across the length and breadth of Manhattan, people were asking, "What's that smell?" after a pungent odor like natural gas or rotten eggs blanketed the borough and northern New Jersey for three hours yesterday morning. By evening, the answer seemed to be a stinky gas emitted by a New Jersey swamp or marsh. "That's where our noses and instruments tell us" the smell was coming from, said Charles Sturcken, a spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Protection.

According to the ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Website, Methyl mercaptan is a colorless gas with a smell like rotten cabbage. It is a natural substance found in the blood, brain, and other tissues of people and animals. It is released from animal feces. It occurs naturally in certain foods, such as some nuts and cheese.Methyl mercaptan is released from decaying organic matter in marshes and is present in the natural gas of certain regions in the United States, in coal tar, and in some crude oils. It is manufactured for use in the plastics industry, in...

Mayor Bloomberg said the city does not know what the puzzling odor wafting over Manhattan and N.J. is, but "it does not appear to be dangerous."' Hundreds of calls came in about the smell beginning at about 9 a.m. from as far south as Battery Park and east to Union Square and all the way through the West 80s on the Upper West Side. The odor also could be detected in New Jersey. The smell disrupted some PATH transit service and prompted office buildings to evacuate. "Our sensors do not show any high concentration of natural gas that would give...

YORK -- People all over a large part of New York City are smelling a gas, and it's not clear where it's coming from. Numerous people have called 911 concerned about the odor. Con Edison, the Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating. PATH service has been suspended into the 33rd Street station. Service is still going into the World Trade Center station. Macy's department store has been evacuated, according to reports. There also are unconfirmed reports of a similar smell across the river in New Jersey. People between Midtown and Battery Park are reported to be smelling...

August 16, 2006 -- A potent, noxious gas odor - first noticed in the waters off Bayonne, N.J. - wafted to the shores of Staten Island and Queens yesterday, sickening at least 21 people and prompting hundreds more to frantically call 911... But Bayonne fire officials said they checked ... and said... "It wasn't us".

(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) The calls and emails started coming into the 1010 WINS newsroom late last night and they all wanted to know the same thing - what is that odor hanging over the city? Most described it as smelling like maple syrup, although at least one person thought it was more like peanuts. So, what is it? The official answer at this hour is we don't know and neither apparently does anyone else. There's speculation that whatever it is drifted over from New Jersey. The NYPD, the City Office of Emergency Management, the City Department of Environmental Protection,...

According to a recent report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, New York and California have the worst air in the nation followed by Oregon, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey. The report says Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana have the cleanest air in the country. The report is based on emissions of 177 chemicals in 1999, the most recent data available. The report says people in the states with the dirtiest air face a higher cancer risk. The New Jersey Sierra Club's Jeff Tittel says one reason New Jersey has poor air quality is because of pollution from power...

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York City firefighters investigated a gas odor in Lower Manhattan Wednesday morning, that apparently came from a New Jersey plant. Fire officials were notified of the gas odor at about 10:20 a.m. A couple of buildings were evacuated for a short time in the area of Water Street and Pearl Street in the Financial District. 1010 WINS reporter Stan Brooks was on Hanover Square following the story. Listen to Stan's report. New York City's Office of Emergency Management reports the gas smell came from a Duke Energy in Linden, New Jersey. Officials said the...