FILE VIDEO: Why are some street lights in Tampa tinted purple? TECO explains
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Do you smell a peculiar stench in the air?
The Tampa Fire Rescue said it’s been getting calls about a strange smell in and around the Rattlesnake and Gandy/Sun Bay South areas.
Turns out, it’s not a gas leak, as some might think, but mercaptan—a colorless gas with a distinctive odor, mostly described as rotting cabbage or rotten eggs.
It is often added to propane gas to make gas leaks easier to detect.
The fire rescue explained that a company has been in the process of removing propane tanks from an out of service propane farm in the area. The smell is from the farm’s soil, which has been saturated with mercaptan.
The fire rescue said TECO was aware of the situation.
Although officials say mercaptan is mostly harmless, exposure to higher levels can cause irritation of the eyes, headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting among other issues. In severe cases, workers who are exposed to the chemical by accident in an industrial space could experience elevated blood pressure, severe hemolytic anemia, deep coma and death, according to the CDC.
