News Release

Lightning Damage Causes Malfunction of Natural Gas Odorant System

April 1, 2005

Lightning from one of the recent thunderstorms damaged equipment at the Huntsville Utilities Natural Gas Metering Station on County Line Road in western Madison County. Part of the equipment damaged controlled the injection of an odorant into natural gas that is used as an indicator of a gas leak.

The malfunction has caused large amounts of the odorant to be injected into the natural gas. This has resulted in a number of gas leak reports throughout the city.

Natural gas does not have an odor and that is why the odorant captan is used by the natural gas industry as a safety precaution so that gas leaks can be detected. The odorant is highly concentrated and has the smell of rotten eggs.

Utility crews have made repairs to the damaged equipment but because of the reduced use of natural gas due to the mild weather, large concentrations of the odorant remain in the gas system. It is being vented out where pilot lights are burning.

Customers who smell the odorant are encouraged to call Huntsville Utilities to have crews check to determine if it is only the odorant being vented or an actual gas leak.