Natural gas odor in Arlington prompts concern

Arlington gas smell linked to controlled release

A strong natural gas odor across Arlington on Tuesday raised alarm among residents and at schools. It prompted Arlington ISD to take precautions. But the public was never in any danger, officials said.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Students in Arlington were kept indoors on Tuesday because of a natural gas odor in the city. 

But it was just a precaution. Officials said there was 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, there was no citywide gas leak. Energy company Energy Transfer said a natural gas compression station south of the city had a pipeline issue during maintenance on Tuesday morning. That caused a change in pressure and release of odor.

People smelled 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 also adjusted campus air intake systems to try to minimize the smell in classrooms.

Energy Transfer said there were no operational issues in connection to the release.

What we don't know:

Energy Transfer did not respond to questions about why it did not immediately notify the fire department about the release, or if that would be part of the protocols going forward.

Atmos Energy said the issue was not related to any of its pipelines. Instead, the gas company referred all questions back to Energy Transfer.

There were no reports of evacuations.