Authorities have not yet determined the source of the strong odor reported yesterday in areas of Athens’ southern suburbs, while experts are linking the smell to LPG or a petroleum byproduct.
Residents from the areas of Vari, Vouliagmeni, Glyfada, Ilioupoli, Argyroupoli, Nea Smyrni, Vyronas and Palaio Faliro continued reporting the smell until around 16:00, when the number of calls began to decline, according to Kathimerini.
Possible causes under examination included natural gas networks and LNG facilities on Revythousa, the country’s refineries, commercial ships, fuel and LPG storage facilities, or the Psyttaleia treatment plant.
Another possible scenario involves mercaptan, a chemical substance added to odorless natural gas so that leaks can be detected through smell.
So far, officials have ruled out the possibility of a malfunction at DESFA facilities, as well as the possibility that it originated from EYDAP facilities at the Psyttaleia Wastewater Treatment Center.
Enaon EDA has also denied that the odor was caused by a fault in its network. In a statement, the company referred to the calls it received, noting among other things:
“The Enaon EDA Emergency Response Center received more than 356 calls from citizens (…). In total, more than 28 technical crews were dispatched to the aforementioned areas to carry out the necessary inspections, while two additional vehicles equipped with Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) technology from the Picarro Surveyor system were mobilized for further checks.”
Meanwhile, the results from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens on the composition of the odor are expected later today.
Source: Καθημερινή
What is fyi.news?
