10 September 2009

"Big Stink" Staggers Port Town of Valdez

From the Valdez Star:

"Some people said it smelled like overwhelming flatulence. Others thought it was like rotten eggs or propane.

While a pungent odor wafted through town a week ago Tuesday, some Valdez residents plugged their noses, called emergency responders, and pondered the cause of the mystery smell.

“It was really awful,” said Peggy Perales, official in charge of the National Weather Service Valdez. “I thought we had a gas leak but there’s no gas in the building … It smelled like someone left a very large tank of propane open.”

[...SNIP...]

As it turns out, the stench was coming from discharged waste at the canneries, said George Keeney, fire chief. Hazmat personnel responded to reports of the smell throughout town and determined it was coming from gas produced by the outfall line at Peter Pan Seafoods. The fish waste is pumped into the bay, rots and then the stink drifts into town at low tide, Keeney said.

“At low tide it definitely smells,” he said.

[...SNIP...]

Cottle said the smell is from the methane gas produced from the decomposing fish guts."

Read the rest here, if you're still with me.

3 comments:

Steven M Nielson said...

Can we get a fish waste pipeline built from Valdez to DC? Oh... the look on Pelosi's face then... it would make her reaction last night seem like child's play... I'd pay good tax money to see that!

On a serious note, I wonder why Peter Pan doesnt sell the fish waste to methane fuel plants, or set something similar up... seems like a lot of wasted energy in this greener age... Maybe I smell business venture in the air!

Rev. Paul said...

Back in the Midwest, hog farmers used to say the pervasive stink "smells like money", with a twinkle in their eyes.

I perceive from afar that you have the same twinkle, sir.

Teresa said...

LOL - something about that story sounds fishy to me... heh, sorry, couldn't resist.