What? Saint John smells? Irving doesn’t know what’s causing the smell. Shocking!

Hard to identify source of Saint John smell: Irving
Irving Oil is unsure whether the sour smell of petroleum noticed by East Saint Johners Wednesday came from a tank its workers were draining.

New Brunswick’s Environment Department began investigating the smell after receiving complaints in the early afternoon.

Refinery spokesperson Jennifer Parker said the refinery was draining one tank of fuel components throughout the morning, which Department of Environment spokespeople said could have caused the odour.

“So we actually discontinued that draining to see if that was in fact the cause of the odour,” Parker said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, the odour did remain in the area throughout the afternoon, so at this point we have not been able to pinpoint the exact cause of that odour.”

Parker says it’s difficult to determine whether the smell came from the refinery.

The department defines Wednesday’s smell as a nuisance odour, meaning no chemicals harmful to a person’s health were released into the air.