Firefighters, emergency responders and gas industry operators participated in Chevron Phillips Chemical Company's Nov. 1 Regional Odorant Spill Exercise, an annual live simulation demonstrating processes to contain spilled materials used to odorize natural gas. Colorless, tasteless and odorless, natural gas contains a much-needed odorizing agent — commonly described as smelling like rotten eggs — to alert the public of actual gas leaks.
Since 2001, Chevron Phillips Chemical has sponsored the popular event across U.S. cities to educate gas industry operators on processes to handle the odorants they inject into natural gas. It is critical they quickly contain spills the public may otherwise mistake for a natural gas leak. The public can smell odorants even at extremely low levels across large geographic areas.
Here is a photo gallery of the event that took place at the Woodlands Emergency Training Center. Images include emergency personnel containing a hose failure while delivering odorant for natural gas, as well as the breach of a valve used in cylinders containing odorant.
