(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A bad smell, like rotten eggs, has been in the air in northwest Indiana and some Chicago suburbs for days, but officials said they’ve finally located the source.
“I would say it’s a combination between fuel and sulfur,” said Whiting, Ind., Mayor Steven Spebar when asked to describe the smell.
BP said its Whiting refinery experienced a leak from a storage tank on Jan. 18. The leak was confined on the next day, and cleanup efforts soon followed, though the stench lingered.
If there were health concerns, Spebar said the public would be notified.
“The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has been in touch with us frequently, and they’re monitoring the cleanup,” he said. “As the soil, especially, and things are removed, and the winds … shifted with the warmer weather, there’s been more complaints about odors.”
Spebar said his office hasn’t received any word of residents having breathing issues.
The mayor said he doesn’t have a timeline as for when the smell will be taken care of.
“The state agency that’s responsible for monitoring it … will keep us posted,” he said.
BP said it’s working around the clock to make the smell go away.
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