A bad odor detected over a wide stretch of McLean County north of Bloomington-Normal came from a Nicor utility chemical release, according to the Hudson Fire Department.
Fire Chief Aaron Kinder said the first reports of the foul smell came just after midnight Tuesday morning. He said the release came from a building on Pipeline Road where Nicor has a natural gas storage facility.
The chemical is added to gas so people can tell — by smell — when there is a leak. Typically, that is either ethyl mercaptan or butyl mercaptan, which have a rotten egg smell detectable to human noses in very small concentrations.
Kinder said reports of the bad odor stretched from Carlock to Evergreen Lake and Hudson to rural north Normal.
The Unit 5 school district initially told parents Hudson Elementary students would be kept indoors, but the odor dissipated and kids got to go outside for recess anyway.
This incident is not related to the house explosion a day later in rural Bloomington.
