Peco identifies Labor Day stink

Peco Energy Co. on Tuesday blamed impurities in the natural gas delivered to its system for an odiferous outbreak that prompted more than a thousand customers to complain over Labor Day.

Pipeline gas delivered to Peco's West Conshohocken plant on Aug. 30 contained elevated levels of hexane, said Cathy Engel Menendez, prompting a flood of complaints about suspected gas leaks from customers in Delaware and Montgomery Counties. Peco called in crews from four other states to help investigate the complaints.

Hexane is a hydrocarbon with a "petrolic" odor, and Engel Menendez said its presence did not present a safety or health risk. The utility initially had suspected elevated amounts of mercaptan, the noxious odorant added to gas to make leaks recognizable.