New London Explosion

February 23, 2012 2:55 AM

The New London Explosion was the subject of a recent trade magazine I receive. The article was about odorless volatile fuel, the safe construction of system delivery, and the importance of odor injection.This is why natural gas stinks.
posted by Mblue (4 comments total)

1- Butanethiol is the chemical that provides the stink. It is nasty stuff. The human nose is so sensitive to this molecule, a friend that worked on a gas field told me that it is sufficient to coat the inside a few meters of pipe with it to infuse the entire system.
posted by three blind mice at 3:08 AM on February 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Previously and previously.
posted by donajo at 5:02 AM on February 23, 2012

Damn... I thought there was some new UK music revolution afoot.
posted by a non e mouse at 5:04 AM on February 23, 2012

Virginia Gas accidentally spilled 400 gallons of mercaptan in 1996, near where I live.

They treated it like a disaster, and cleaned and scrubbed the area, but you can still smell it 16 years later.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 5:04 AM on February 23, 2012