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Nasty smell around Melfort, Tisdale and Nipawin not a risk: SaskEnergy

Sep 30, 2015 | 2:56 PM

The nasty smell that has been wafting around the Melfort, Tisdale and Nipawin area is of no danger to the public, according to SaskEnergy.

A public safety announcement provided by the company said an equipment malfunction has caused the natural gas smell in the area.

The odourant, Mercaptin, gives natural gas the “rotten egg” smell to notify people of gas leaks.

On Tuesday, equipment at a SaskEnergy compressor station in St. Louis accidently added an excessive amount of the odourant to the natural gas system.

SaskEnergy said they’ve received a high number of calls in regard to the smell and have conducted a natural gas flare at its Star City Town Border station on Tuesday evening in order to remove some of the over-odourized gas from the system.

Several SaskEnergy and TransGas vehicles will be in the Melfort, Tisdale and Nipawin community as they respond to the odour calls throughout the area.

A spokesperson for the Northeast School Division said they are working with SaskEnergy to address the smell. Meanwhile classes continue as normal.

SaskEnergy encourages residents who do detect a natural gas odour to contact them at 1-888-7000-GAS (427). A technician will be sent to the location to ensure all natural gas infrastructure in the area is working as designed.

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