Natural gas odor in Arlington prompts concern

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ARLINGTON, Texas - Students in Arlington are being kept indoors because of a natural gas odor in the city. 

But it's just a precaution. Officials said there is no citywide gas leak.

What we know:

The Arlington Fire Department said it began receiving calls around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday from residents across the city who were reporting a natural gas odor.

However, according to Atmos Energy, there was no citywide gas leak. Instead, a natural gas compression station south of the city had a pipeline issue. That caused a change in pressure and release of odor.

People are smelling the natural gas odorizer, mercaptain, which was released into the air.

"Natural gas is odorless by nature. Mercaptan is intentionally added prior to distribution to provide a detectable odor, allowing for early identification of potential gas leaks. Mercaptan has a strong, pungent smell, even at very low concentrations," the Arlington Fire Department said.

Arlington ISD sent a message to schools acknowledging the odor. The district encouraged all schools to keep students indoors and refrain from outdoor activities as a precaution.

District staff are also adjusting campus air intake systems to try to minimize the smell in classrooms.

What we don't know:

Atmos Energy said the issue is not related to any of its pipelines. Instead, the gas company referred all questions about the reported pipeline issue to Energy Transfer Pipeline.

There have been no reports of evacuations.