SYLACAUGA, Ala. – After sustained high speed winds came through Talladega County over the past 48 hours, a lingering effect has caused multiple Sylacauga residents to alert authorities.
The winds blew natural gas coming from the Resolute Forest Products paper mill from Coosa Pines Rd. in Childersburg.
The gases eventually settled above parts of Sylacauga, and residents Friday morning woke up to a putrid smell that shared the likeness of “rotten eggs and smelly socks.”
According to the Sylacauga Fire Department (SFD), the cause of the bad scent is a byproduct of mercaptan, a colorless gas that is harmless. The odor is released when the plant is going through scheduled maintenance.
The SFD asks that community members do their best to ignore the smell and to not call 911 due to the odor as the gas will pass eventually.
