Is it possible to cover distribution of nerve gas with natural gas without losing the effectivness?

Question

The only reason why I'm asking this question is because of the news items on Comcast. In New York today, they had that horrible odor from natural gas all over the city. They also had that same smell this past summer. In Austin, Texas they had an odor issue and there were 60 birds found dead on one street. My question is for serious chem students or instructors only.

Can the explusion of nerve gas be masked by other odors and if so, does the injection of another chemical render the affects of nerve gas to null?

Had I not read this article, then the thought wouldn't have crossed my mind. However, since I did read them and I'm intelligent in some subjects, this is not my forte' although it has always been an area of interest for me. Also, I'm not a panic person, I just like gathering information for my own self. It is important to me, so I would appreciate a serious answer and an honest one. I don't look for problems, but I'm an analytical person. Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

There are several different issues here. The horrible smell from the natural gas leaks is due to compounds called mercaptans that are added to odorless natural gas to allow detection by smell.

Mercaptans contain sulfur, which should explain the rotten egg smell of the gas. Sometimes more of this is put into the gas than is necessary for just leak detection (often by mistake).

Birds are very susceptible to asphyxiation from natural gas. This is due to their very small lung capacities. I doubt that any nerve gas was involved or rodents, cats and dogs would have been found dead also.

Most nerve gasses are organophosphate compounds. These usually have a slightly sweet smell and could probably survive if placed in a natural gas line. The odor of the mercaptans would certainly mask their odor.