Officials have revealed the cause of strong natural gas odors in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs that sparked hundreds of 911 calls on Wednesday.
A statement from BP confirmed that the natural gas odors are a result of cleanup efforts at the refinery in Whiting, Ind., six days after a leak from a storage tank was reported.
The full statement from a BP spokesperson can be found below:
"On the afternoon of January 18, 2024, BP's Whiting refinery experienced a leak from a storage tank at the refinery’s tank fields. As of early January 19, the leak was stopped and contained within the tank confinement area. Emergency response and operations crews immediately began cleanup efforts.
Notifications were made to required local and state regulatory entities. The refinery continues to operate normally.
We are aware that some in the surrounding communities may be experiencing odors while cleanup work at the tank confinement area is taking place. Operation crews are working around the clock to rapidly clean up the impacted area and are undertaking additional measures to try to mitigate the odors as they continue cleanup efforts."
NICOR officials told NBC Chicago they had begun receiving calls at approximately 5 a.m. on Wednesday from an area including Glenwood and Crestwood, suburbs approximately 20 miles southwest of Chicago.
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In all, more than 600 calls were received by the company about the smell, with officials saying the odor was being carried from west-to-east by the wind on Wednesday morning.
Just before 7 a.m., the Village of Tinley Park Public Safety posted to Facebook indicating officials were looking into the matter.
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"The 911 center is receiving calls for odor of natural gas outside," the post from the Village said. "Many of the suburbs to the east of Tinley Park are getting reports as well. The BP Refinery in Whiting is actively looking into this."
The company is continuing to work to identify the cause of the odor, and no further information was available.
Dozens of comments on Facebook posts from Oak Forest residents reported smelling the odor in the area.
The City of Oak Forest also posted about the natural gas odor to social media.
"We are aware of the natural gas order in town," the post to X, formerly known as Twitter, said. "Other communities are also experiencing this issue and NICOR is working locating the problem."
Earlier this month, residents in the northern suburbs reported smelling a natural gas, or "rotten egg" smell. Officials later determined that the odor was believed to have come from "maintenance of equipment located in Cedar County, Iowa," which later drifted into the Chicago area.
