It happened again: Another local company unintentionally releases foul-odor gas into the air

CHARLOTTE — Another company unintentionally released mercaptan into the air Monday afternoon, according to the Charlotte Fire Department.

Officials said Piedmont Natural Gas is responsible. It happened near Tom Hunter Road and Vancouver Road.

Residents in the Hidden Valley and University City area may have smelled the odor. Charlotte Fire said they have already received several calls about a strong natural gas/chemical odor.

Mercaptan is injected into natural gas to give it a distinctive smell. Mercaptan is not a hazardous chemical and does not pose a risk to public safety.

This afternoon, @PiedmontNG unintentionally released the odorant mercaptan near the 1400 block of Tom Hunter Rd.  Mercaptan is not a hazardous chemical and does not pose a risk to public safety.  Mercaptan is injected into natural gas to give a distinctive smell. pic.twitter.com/9NoA1qpewM
— Charlotte Fire Dept (@CharlotteFD) July 25, 2022

This comes nearly two weeks after a strong odor swept across Charlotte after a local company destroyed mercaptan tanks that were “mistakenly reported empty,” accidentally releasing the gas mercaptan. Channel 9 later learned a Legacy Environmental Services crew was behind it.

At the time, Meteorologist Keith Monday said temperature inversion also caused the smell to be more pronounced.

Mecklenburg County said Legacy Environmental Services violated the county’s “objectionable odor” rule, our partners at the Charlotte Observer reported. County officials now want information from Legacy so they can determine next steps.

(WATCH BELOW: What’s that smell in Charlotte? Authorities blame weather for lingering odor)