News

America’s largest city got a scare early Monday when the smell associated with natural gas covered a large swath of Manhattan. Sirens blared, emergency vehicles raced through streets, people poured out of buildings, and some train stations were evacuated.

But nothing dangerous was discovered, and there was no immediate explanation for the odor. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg held a news conference to calm fears of a gas leak.

He said, “So far, the city’s air sensors, and we have many of them around the city, do not report any elevated level of natural gas, there are no unusual levels.”

Bloomberg said authorities are investigating a possible leak of mercaptan, a harmless chemical that is added to the normally odorless and potentially fatal natural gas to warn people of danger.

Filed under: USA by lrenz