Gas smell not a gas leak

Posted 8/26/20

There was a mercaptan leak at a Guernsey Tank Farm facility. No danger, but it smells like leaking gas.

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Gas smell not a gas leak

Posted

A mercaptan tank owned by Tall Grass Energy Partners at the Guernsey Tank Farm located at 207 Tank Farm Road in Guernsey had a leak early this morning and it was promptly repaired.  The bad smell continued and traveled as far as Lingle, but there was “no gas, and the leak was fixed” according to Terry Stevenson, Emergency Management Coordinator for Platte County.
“Tallgrass called me just before 8 a.m. this morning,” Stevenson said. “They had a mercaptan leak at their Guernsey Tank Farm facility. No danger, but would smell like leaking gas. I notified dispatch in case they received calls.”
According to Stevenson, “natural gas is odorless. Mercaptan is what they add to it so that leaks can be smelled. No gas leaked. Only a mercaptan storage tank. It was a small leak on the tank.”
“Mercaptan poses no threat to the public. It is just the odor that is put in the natural gas,” explained Phyllis Hammond from the Colorado Media Center of Tall Grass Energy. She is very grateful to the public for calling 911 because that is the reason mercaptan is put into the gas; to identify when there is a potential gas leak. It was leaking around a cracked nut on the tank, but was repaired by 8 a.m. this morning.