Mysterious natural gas smell in Chicago's north and northwest suburbs traced to Iowa

CHICAGO - On Tuesday, residents in Chicago's north and northwest suburbs reported an unusual smell of natural gas in the air.

Authorities traced the source of the odor to equipment undergoing maintenance in Cedar County, Iowa.

Local police have clarified that the odor, though concerning to residents, posed no actual danger. Nicor, a gas utility company, issued a statement addressing the situation:

"The safety of our customers and communities is our No. 1 value. Nicor Gas has received and responded to a high volume of calls reporting a natural gas odor. The reported odors are not related to Nicor Gas’ system nor operations. Based on the information known at this time, we believe the odor originated in Iowa, and the wind is carrying the smell across the northern part of Illinois into our service territory. Nicor Gas is not experiencing any service outages in connection with this incident.

Natural gas is naturally odorless. As a safety measure for detection, mercaptan is added, which gives natural gas an odor often associated with rotten eggs. Mercaptan will naturally dissipate and poses no harm to the community.

Nicor Gas will continue to investigate any natural gas odor reports from residents as a safety precaution. Additional personnel have been called in to assist with the increased number of calls – currently about 1,000 calls at this time. If residents suspect a natural gas leak, they are strongly encouraged to call 888.Nicor.4U."