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Matt Grabel: What’s that smell?
Matt Grabel caught a whiff of something that smelled like a gas leak coming from his basement. His Wooster Square neighbors smelled it, too, in their homes.
The odor that worried the neighbors this week turned out to be from cleaning supplies. The Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) has a crew in Wooster Square this week cleaning out sewers in preparation of relining them, a simpler and less expensive way to rehabilitate them and increase flow rather than replacing them.
The neighbors didn’t know all that. Grabel, 22, thought he was smelling acetone or xylene in his St. John Street home Wednesday.
He called the gas company to describe the smell to them and ask if any gas leaks had been reported. None had. He was advised to call the fire department. He dialed 911. A firefighter showed up.
“When they opened my door, the firefighter could smell it in my house from across the street,” Grabel said.“They told me the odor wasn’t at a high enough level to make my house to blow up.”
After investigating Grabel’s basement, the NHFD determined that the smell was traveling from the sewer lining project being done on Grand Avenue. The relining process requires the use of cleaning solvents that are nontoxic but have a heavy odor, said New Haven Fire Chief John Alston. Alston said Grabel was not the only one calling with concerns.
“New Haven Fire Department informed them [contractors] of the complaints and calls we received. NHFD entered and investigated structures with meters. Found nothing abnormal,” Alston said via text Thursday afternoon. Then they made contact with WPCA and figured out what was up.
Wednesday was the first day the WPCA was cleaning and lining the Wooster Square pipes. The contractor hired for the job, Insituform, expects to work on on Grand Avenue, Olive Street, Court Street, and Commerce Street next week, the on to Wooster, Olive and Jefferson streets the following week, according to WPCA Director of Engineering Tomas V. Sgroi. That will end this first phase of the work. A second phase is planned for late February or early March for other sections of Olive Street.
Prior to the lining work, the crews cleaned the sewer pipes using high-pressure water hoses. Cleaning solutions used include Nitric acid, sulfuric acid, ASTM Fuel C, vegetable oil, detergent, and soap, according to Sgroi. He said the odors smelled in the neighborhood come from polyster resin/styrene, according to Sgroi.
“Odors that occur in houses or buildings will happen with dry, incorrectly installed, or non-existent traps,” he stated in an email to the Independent, attaching this data sheet on the chemical’s safety. “In most cases, pouring several gallons of water down floor drains, sinks, or showers that haven’t been used in a long time will often stop the odor from entering the home. If odors do enter a home, they are asked to notify the field personnel who will assist. Generally, the odor is most prominent during the curing process which lasts for several hours. After curing, the odors quickly dissipate.”
Sgroi said odor complaints are common during these cleaning/lining operations. For that reason, he said, the WPCA submits this form a week in advance with information about the chemicals used so authorities know what’s up.