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Local officials initially assumed it might be a natural gas leak, saying they'd received numerous 9-1-1 calls on Wednesday, Aug. 10. The odor spread to several adjoining counties and across the Delaware River.
The Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) said that the widespread odor was coming from the Truck Stop in East Greenwich from a trailer containing about 7,000 gallons of Mercaptan that was venting.
"The chemical has a rotten egg smell. It is not natural gas," the OEM wrote on Facebook.
On Friday, the OEM was distributing flyers on how to best cope with the fumes. "We are working as fast and safely as possible to solve this problem, but it can take up to a few days," the county agency said.
The County also said:
- Air monitoring is taking place at the site and surrounding areas
- The air monitor readings show it is safe to be outside
- We will continue to monitor the air until this incident is over
- Residents may experience mild and temporary irritation in their throat, eyes, and possibly skin.
- Wait until the odor levels go away and then open your windows and use fans to exhaust outside your home
The smell drifted into Camden, Salem and Cumberland counties as well as across the Delaware River into Philadelphia.
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