Fuel smell wafts over New Orleans

[MountainLaurel]

And to think this thing is 90 miles away. It's not quite at burning throat level yet, but I'd hate to have asthma or breathing troubles right now. I'm so glad my dad's visit ended Monday: He has COPD and has breathing issues on a good day.

A pungent fuel smell is wafting over much of the New Orleans area, and residents curious about its source have been jamming government phone lines for information.

Though emergency preparedness officials haven't been able to confirm the source of the odor, a Jefferson Parish official said he assumes the smell is emanating from the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is creeping ever closer to the Louisiana coastline. The coast is about 80 miles south of the city.

Deano Bonano, the parish's emergency preparedness director, pointed to a strong southeast wind and the absence of any reported chemical leaks in the parish as the root of his assumption.

"We're still trying to confirm that," he said, adding that he's gotten calls about the odor from locations across the parish, including Harahan, Metairie and near Lake Pontchartrain. "Whatever it is, it's coming from south of us, and we have to assume it's the oil spill."

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/fuel_smell_wafts_over_new_orle.html

[MadMaddie]

1. It's onlyu going to get worse.

This is a tradgedy for all.

[Xipe Totec]

2. I bet the seafood will also start tasting funky soon nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. raw crude is vile, toxic stuff.

So much damage is about to be unleashed our our Gulf region. :(

[political_Dem]

4. This is horrible news. Hasn't New Orleans had enough?

The folks over there are still recovering from Katrina.

[MountainLaurel]

5. No kidding

And there are tens of thousands of extra people in town for Jazz Fest this weekend.

[DrDan]

7. just left there on Monday (attended Jazz Fest last weekend)

did not smell it through this past Monday. Guess it just settled in.

[MountainLaurel]

8. It's settled in over the past 2 hours

When I was outside at lunch, the air was fine. By 3, you could smell it.

[Xipe Totec]

28. Not Just New Orleans

This is going to fowl the entire gulf coast, and probably part of the Atlantic coast due to the Gulf Current.

The repercussions of this catastrophe are huge. We can kiss off any seafood from the Gulf for the next five years.

We are unbelievably fucked, all of us.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. New reason for Emeril to yell "Bam!"

Shrimp Flambé anyone?

[eShirl]

30. just glad I wasn't drinking my ice tea when I got to your post title

[wtmusic]

9. Mmm, maybe a revisit to that "expand offshore drilling" agenda is in order. nt

[Feron]

10. It's stinks pretty badly here and I'm north of NOLA.

It smells like a pungent garage or utility shed. Bearable, but you don't want to spend too much time in it.

I can't imagine how awful it must be down near the coast. Judging from the weather forecast, winds will remain in this pattern until Sunday.

Of course the Coast Guard spokeswoman had no idea that there was an odor according to the press conference that just ended. She said that they would look into it. I mean really...you burn oil and the winds are pointed in our direction. In police work they call that a clue.

Now they want to go down and put dispersement near the leak instead of spraying it on the surface. They don't know what environmental impact will be, but they are probably going to try it this evening. The oil guy is soliciting ideas from the public on how to stop the leak I believe on their website. He mentioned emailing ideas.

They're desperate and we are so screwn.

[MountainLaurel]

15. And this could last for months

I'm now recalling that one of the "silver linings" mentioned in regard to the Valdez was that it happened in an area uninhabited by large numbers of people.

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. The "oil guy" is soliciting ideas from the public????

Whose website are you referring to ???

[Feron]

19. I'm assuming Transocean's incident site.

http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/

I only caught the last part of the conference and didn't catch an internet address.

[Behind the Aegis]

11. Oh yeah....

I was outside around 1 and all I could smell was foxglove and some other flower which is causing havoc with my sinuses. So, to test your post, I opened the front door...WHAM! It is like sitting in a gas station tanking up! Considering I am only four blocks from the Mississippi river bank (on the east bank side), if it is already smelling like this, this weekend will probably REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! There are usually some putrid smells in NOLA, usually after parades and such, sometimes just general funk, but this will add a new level of "yuck" to the smells here. At least it covers that disgusting piss smell of the foxglove in bloom.

[MountainLaurel]

14. People are already starting to get headaches

I was planning to get out and do some gardening and bike riding over the weekend. Now I'm thinking I'll be inside the house with the windows closed.

[Behind the Aegis]

18. It will likely cause my sinuses to go bonkers.

I will have to be cautious with letting Voodoo out with the smell and those damn buck moth caterpillars which sting his little puppy feet. I am afraid of what it could do to the avian lief in the area. The Brown Pelican was JUST taken off the endangered species list, now this! I was planning to avoid most of Jazzfest, now I have an excuse. It is supposed to rain all next week, I wonder what, if any, effect it might have on us. Have you heard anything on the local news?

[MountainLaurel]

21. Well, you can see what the T-P is saying

I'm at work, so no idea if the TV stations are talking yet. I'll check out the Weather Channel when I get home. Here's what WWL has to say: http://www.wwltv.com/community/blogs/weather/Weather-Blog-The-Oil-Spill-A-Weather-Perspective-92424569.html

I was all excited about taking my Tristan out for a long walk in the sunshine when I got home. Now I think he and his 2 canine sisters won't be getting out much anytime soon.

[GreenTea]

12. what will become of those beach front condo developers...that came in droves after

New Orleans hurricane devastation.

[Jim__]

13. Sorry to hear that.

Unfortunately, that smell is probably going to hang around for months.

[Canuckistanian]

16. One of the largest oil spills in history....

And people are puzzled about what could be causing the smell?. :banghead:

[MountainLaurel]

23. Weird-ass smells are a dime a dozen here

So it's not far-fetched that there might be some confusion as to the cause.

[Canuckistanian]

25. Oh. I didn't know that

I once drove through Newark, NJ once and I think I know what you're talking about.

[MountainLaurel]

26. That's exactly it

There are refineries and processing plants and chemical plants all over the area, especially along the river. If you live near one of them, your air always smells. But even those of us who aren't next to a tank farm get to experience the fun every few months, when there's some sort of leak or release or barge crash.

[smokey nj]

27. Smells like hell farted, doesn't it?

[NOLALady]

20. O My.

I'm about 40 miles north of New Orleans. I haven't noticed anything yet.

[MountainLaurel]

22. Meanwhile, Sen. Mary is blowing her corporate masters

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/sen_mary_landrieu_says_spill_s.html

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., took to the Senate floor this afternoon to warn that the response to the deadly oil rig accident and spill shouldn't be to limit future off-shore drilling - as some environmental groups advocate.

While Landrieu said the spill is a major disaster and substantial threat to her state's coastlines and wildlife, at least the oil isn't the thick kind that caused substantial damage to the Santa Barbara, Calif., coastline in 1969, leading to an four-decade moratorium on drilling off the California and Florida coasts.

[dixiegrrrrl]

24. Our toxic spill is not like YOUR toxic spill" neener neener.

Woman needs her head drilled.

[glowing]

29. Shit the smell is already over here off the coast of FL, I can't imagine being closer to it.

Its absolutely putrid.