Despite the strong smell of natural gas in Valencia and Castaic Wednesday morning there was no threat, harm or risk, officials from SoCalGas announced.
SoCalGas workers doing excavation work at the Honor Ranch natural gas storage facility on Newhall Ranch Road, near Rye Canyon Road, “exposed a pipe” used to add odorant to the natural gas stored there, Christine Detz, SoCalGas spokeswoman said.
Since natural gas is odorless, gas company officials, add an odorant to it as a safety precaution, so that natural gas can be detected.
In Wednesday’s incident, the smell of the odorant was reported by people near the Walmart store next to the Honor Rancho site, and across Interstate 5, west to Castaic.
When the odorant line was damaged, a small volume of liquid odorant was briefly released.
“No natural gas was released,” Detz said.
SoCalGas workers contained the odorant release assuring agencies such as the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station that no natural gas was released.
The release has been contained and there is no longer an odor at the facility, Detz said before noon.
Gas company officials want to anyone who smells natural gas and suspects a leak, to phone them at 1-800-427-2200.
661-287-5527
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