Natural-gas smell is from a print job, Geneva officials say

Have you been smelling natural gas in western Geneva the last two days?

Stop worrying, it isn't coming from a leak, according to the Geneva Fire Department.

It's in the exhaust from a printing plant, which is using Mercaptan, the chemical added to odorless natural gas to give it a detectable smell.

The plant is printing materials that have a small scratch-and-sniff patch. The scent being applied contains Mercaptan.

Mercaptan is made of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur that is detectable to the human nose at levels of less than one part per million. Since natural gas in its pure state does not have a smell, Mercaptan is the ideal additive to colorless, odorless gases so they can be identified well before they reach hazardous levels, according to fire department officials.

The printing company, which operates on Gary Lane, will be continuing its production run from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday,

For more information, residents can call the fire department at (630) 232-2530.