Odor Near Coast Still a Mystery
South Coast Air Quality Management District investigators were unable Friday to pinpoint the source of an odorous cloud that worked its way across the Long Beach area and into Orange County on Thursday night.
AQMD spokeswoman Jeanne Randol said the agency suspected that the smell originated at a refinery and might have resulted from the opening of a pressure valve.
The AQMD had been receiving sporadic complaints since June 8, she said, but it wasn’t until Thursday night that more than two dozen callers from Long Beach, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach and other area communities told of the odorous gas, which also reportedly caused some people’s eyes to burn.
Long Beach and Orange County fire departments also received numerous complaints. Randol said the cloud was not believed to be harmful.
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