Strong smell of hydrogen sulphide

Over the last half-hour or so a terrible smell of hydrogen sulphide (rotten eggs) has been in the air outside. It's cloudy with heavy rain so I can't see anything but can hear aircraft overhead when I go out. I haven't encountered this here before and have lived here for many years. Could it be chemtrailing (which I saw for the first time here only a few days ago)? This is a thinly populated rural area so very unlikely to be drains. I've read that this kind of thing sometimes happens before an earthquake but this isn't an earthquake area. Puzzled. Any ideas?

A natural gas leak, maybe?

Could very well be a sulfur discharge if you are in a known quake zone. Maybe look at your area on the USGS map to see if there are any recent quake swarms.

reply to post by Anthony2


Thats strange.... what city do you live in?

reply to post by Anthony2


Hi OP, I live in England and my wife and I experienced the same smell.

We thought it may be drains, Not sure what it was. It's gone now.

I used to get that smell living here in Central Scotland, but only when the wind was blowing my direction from the chemical plants down the docks.

Is there any big plants or factories near where you are OP ?

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People

A natural gas leak, maybe?

That is a great suggestion. Natural gas is odorless, so the gas companies add something called mercaptan to it to give it that rotten egg smell.

Nope. It isn't chemtrailing.

Unless it's actually rotten eggs, then it is not a good idea to breath too much of it.

I'd stay indoors, or get out of dodge and report it to the local authorities so someone can investigate.

Originally posted by F4guy

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People

A natural gas leak, maybe?

That is a great suggestion. Natural gas is odorless, so the gas companies add something called mercaptan to it to give it that rotten egg smell.

They also add it to propane, which some people use in place of natural gas. Natural gas is usually piped into homes from utilities, but in some rural areas without an infrastructure of natural gas lines going to each home, propane is used by homeowners and is usually stored in a tank on the homeowner's property, and is refilled by propane-tank trucks.

There are also many natural gas pipeline criss-crossing the country (at least in the U.S.), and even if the OP doesn't have natural gas service to the homes in his area (nor home propane tanks), then possibly it is one of these other gas transportation pipelines that could be leaking.

Heck, maybe the tank on his gas bar-b-que grill is leaking.

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People

Heck, maybe the tank on his gas bar-b-que grill is leaking

Easy one to cross off the list... I've had this happen.

I work in an environment that deals with Hydrogen Sulfide on a regular basis.
When it's pure there is no odor, or smell, whatsoever...and it will kill you dead.
That's if you manage to breathe the pure concentration of it.
I've actually read stories of men dying very soon after they smelled it.
Which means the concentration wasn't pure, but somewhat dispersed in air.
They must of had a large exposure.

Hydrogen Sulfide, or H2S, is an extremely poisonous gas.
There is no joking around, this gas will cause certain death.
When it is introduced into the atmosphere, it reacts causing the "rotten egg" odor.
But even then a small dose will cause brain damage or even death.
I believe it is best to steer clear of the gas, anytime it's presence is known.

That being said...
You may be smelling a sulfuric gas release in the air.
Caused by anything from sewage waste to fissure in the Earths crust.
If you can smell rotten eggs, then the concentration may be low enough...
...As not to cause certain death or brain damage.

reply to post by Anthony2


Not sure where you are from but is there any oil/gas drilling occurring where you are?

We're having a major oil boom in certain parts of the US and in one region, there was a horrible H2S leak which poisoned a large area and some evacuated their homes. The specific incident was in south Texas.

Is there fracking or drilling going on in your area?

Might be a stupid question but can anyone else smell it there? Is it only outside, or can you smell it inside?

I ask because there are a few medical reasons why a person might be smelling sulphur. Just putting the possibility out there in case it's limited to your nose only.

CX.

I'm sorry but what is the logical (read critical thinking) connection that suggests that the most probable source of the smell is chemtrails?

There was a smell like that in Souther California a while ago, turned out to be the Salton Sea

latimesblogs.latimes.com...

It happens from time to time for a variety of reasons. It's not coming from planes, as they are too high for any gas to reach the ground before it's dispersed over thousands of miles.

It could just be a gas leak. Seems like there's always one happening somewhere, based on twitter:

twitter.com...

Am I seriously the only one thinking it could be a Meth lab?

Last time I smelled H2S it was downwind from a small volcanic eruption.

any volcanoes or hot pools nearby?

Originally posted by Chenbo
reply to post by Anthony2

 

Hi OP, I live in England and my wife and I experienced the same smell.

We thought it may be drains, Not sure what it was. It's gone now.

edit on 10-1-2013 by Chenbo because: (no reason given)

That's interesting. It went from here too, later that day. I'm in Wales.

"They also add it to propane, which some people use in place of natural gas. Natural gas is usually piped into homes from utilities, but in some rural areas without an infrastructure of natural gas lines going to each home, propane is used by homeowners and is usually stored in a tank on the homeowner's property, and is refilled by propane-tank trucks."


Thank you - I wonder? There is no natural gas supply here, but two of my neighbours do have LPG tanks.