Did you smell gas in Windsor on Friday? Here's what it was
A gas-like smell that wafted through Windsor on Friday morning was from the release of an odourant that poses "little risk to the public," the pipeline company behind the issue says.
Plains Midstream Canada said it was performing routine maintenance — flaring — when a small volume of mercaptan was accidentally released.
The substance is an additive to propane, which is odourless, in order to make it detectable for safety reasons.
"While mercaptan has a strong smell, it poses little risk to the public and no propane was released," a company spokesperson said in a statement Friday afternoon.
A spokesperson says air quality monitoring is taking place, but the source of the odour is now "contained."
The company says it stopped the maintenance once contacted by Windsor's fire department.
At around 11 a.m., Windsor Fire & Rescue Services said on social media the source of the release has been located and the smell will be dissipating.
Windsor's fire prevention officer said a prevailing wind pushed the smell through the city and into the east end.
"There was never any harm or cause for concern," said Mike Coste.
"What they should have done was make Windsor Fire aware so that when calls came in we could inform people."
Coste said that they were contacted by a number of concerned people throughout the day.
The company thanked the public for reaching out to the fire department and others in the industry.
"We appreciate Windsor Fire & Rescue Services and our industry colleagues for their responsiveness in providing updates to the community," the spokesperson said.
LaSalle Fire Services also reported that residents may have noticed the smell.
Enbridge Gas said it, too, was aware of the smell reported in Windsor and confirmed it is not natural gas.
