Rotten egg smell blankets Philadelphia area

PHILADELPHIA — Chestnuts roasting on an open fire it wasn’t.

Authorities say the acrid odour of rotten eggs that wafted over Philadelphia has sent utility crews searching for a source.

The foul odour first was reported to dispatchers at Philadelphia Gas Works around 9:30 p.m. Friday and complaints about the stench then flowed into the city’s 911 system. Some calls even were received from neighbouring Bucks County.

About 90 minutes later, city officials determined the smell was caused by a kind of sulfur-based additive. They say isn’t dangerous.