Update 1:30 p.m. — Tallahassee utility officials say there is no apparent issue with the 950 miles of lines running throughout the city, despite widespread reports of an odor of natural gas in the air.
Stephen Mayfield, manager City of Tallahassee Natural Gas Utility, said utility workers have checked the system – gauging pressure and flows – and have not found a massive leak.
“It’s a complex system but it’s all operating within parameters,” Mayfield said. “We have a safe system and a tight system that doesn’t have many leaks. We will chase this down and figure out where the smell is coming from.”
Natural gas is odorless; utilities add a substance called mercaptan that gives it that familiar rotten egg smell. Federal law requires natural gas to be "readily detectable" so that people can smell leaks.
Mayfield said crews with the city are following up on reports of residents smelling natural gas, but once they arrive the odor is gone, indicating a functioning system that leaves the source unknown.
“It’s not normal for gas to dissipate,” he said. "If there’s an issue, the smell stays until it’s corrected. If we get a call and get out there and the smell is gone, that tells you there’s not an issue with the system itself.”
The presence of a strong gas smell caused the Florida Department of Health in Leon County office on Old Bainbridge Road to be evacuated and closed Thursday.
Mayfield asked that people continue to make reports which could aid in finding the source of the smell.
The city’s natural gas system serves 33,000 customers in Leon, Wakulla and Gadsden counties.
Original story
Multiple reports of the smell of natural gas wafting in the air in central Tallahassee began to surface Thursday shortly before noon.
City gas officials and the Tallahassee Fire Department are working to determine the credibility of the reports and to find a possible source, said TFD Deputy Chief Richard Jones.
Jones said firefighters had been to multiple calls reporting the smell, but by the time they arrived it had dissipated. But, he said, the calls were "widespread."
The Tallahassee Democrat has received tips from residents along North Monroe Street, downtown, Capital Circle SW, the Tharpe Street corridor, and West Tennessee Street who report the pungent smell.
Natural gas is odorless; utilities add a substance called mercaptan that gives it that familiar rotten egg smell. Federal law requires natural gas to be "readily detectable" so that people can smell leaks.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more.
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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