Foul odor in Charlotte caused by a mistake in recycling process, company says
An environmental cleanup company confirmed a mistake led to the release of a foul-smelling substance that created a stink in Charlotte on Thursday.
Legacy Environmental Services, LLC, released mercaptan during a recycling process of metal tanks at its location on North Graham Street, the company said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer on Friday.
Mercaptan is added to colorless and odorless natural gas giving it “a distinctive smell of rotten eggs,” Piedmont Natural Gas said.
According to Legacy, four small tanks were reported to be empty when they were picked up for removal and disposal.
“Disassembly of the tanks for cleaning released mercaptan vapors into the surrounding atmosphere,” the company said.
Around 8:45 a.m. Thursday, reports of a natural gas smell flooded the 911 system, the Charlotte Fire Department said.
The smell reached many parts of Charlotte because of a temperature inversion. That happens when the air temperature increases at higher elevations, trapping colder air and odors closer to the surface, according to the National Weather Service.
Several buildings were evacuated because the odor seeped inside, including the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. Fire officials later gave an all-clear, but District Court closed early as a precaution.
The stench had mostly dissipated by mid-afternoon.
The tanks have been resealed and will be prepared for disposal at another location, Legacy said. Authorities were notified at the time of the release, the company said.
Legacy’s statement did not include an apology.
What is Legacy Environmental?
Legacy Environmental Services was founded in 2010, according to the North Carolina Secretary of State office’s business entity search.
Legacy deals with services related to petroleum, non-hazardous and hazardous waste removal and transportation and vacuum trucks, the company’s Google profile said.
The company’s CEO is Jeffery Nusbaum and its main office is on North Graham Street, the business entity search said.
Legacy was not hired by Piedmont Natural Gas, and Thursday’s incident did not involve any Piedmont assets or resources, a utility spokesman told the Observer.
The Environmental Protection Agency has been notified about the leak, according to Charlotte Fire.
Mecklenburg County Air Quality is working with local, state and federal partners to conduct a follow-up investigation of the gas odorant release, Megan Green, the county’s air quality program manager, said. It will likely take several weeks to complete a “full and thorough investigation,” she said.
Mercaptan exposure in NC
Since 2004, eight similar instances of mercaptan exposure have been reported in the state, according to the N.C. Division of Air Quality complaint database.
The most recent complaint, in January 2020, involved a woman in the northeastern N.C. town of Plymouth who reported the all-day odor affected her breathing and sinuses.
Four complaints involved propane tanks being sawed open, released or tampered with, according to the database.
New Indy paper mill case
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican whose 5th District includes York County, wrote a letter in May urging the EPA to complete an enforcement action against New Indy paper mill. That would make it possible to resolve odor problems that many people — including many in south Charlotte — have complained about, Norman’s letter said.
In December 2021, the EPA proposed a $1.1 million fine against the Catawba paper mill if it did not address the smell, The State newspaper of Columbia previously reported. The colorless gas hydrogen sulfide is the biggest source of the odor, but mercaptan also is another contributing to the air pollution and the horrid smell in the area.
In May, New Indy said it had made “substantial strides” in reducing hydrogen sulfide pollution and had been in touch with Norman’s office.
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 2:52 PM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story included information about a different, unrelated company named Legacy Environmental Services, Inc.
