why is it necessary to add a distinctive smell to normal gas?

Answer 1

Methane has no odor of its own. The chemical used can be detected at extremely low concentrations. That's why you can smell it if a house/apartment has been closed up for a while and pilot light kept burning in appliances.

I used to work occasionally near an odorizing plant where natural gas was treated. Just in the normal day to day operations with no leaks, the minuscule amount of odorizer that escaped made the whole area for at least half a mile around that facility "smell like gas".

Answer 2

Natural gas has no odour, which can make a gas leak very exiting. A smell is added to assist in detecting leaks.

Answer 3

A natural gas leak in your house (or anywhere) is a dangerous thing. A spark could cause an explosion. The nasty sulfur smell is to alert you and keep you from ignoring a potentially life-threatening problem.

Answer 4

For safety reasons. Otherwise a leak would not be detectable by smell.

Answer 5

So you can smell it if there is a gas leak.

Answer 6

Becos how would you know if you had a gas leak, if you couldn't smell it.

Answer 7

otherwise, in case of a gas leak, you would not know about it. With death a potential result.

Answer 8

so that if there is a gas leak you could detect it so that there is no way of lighting a cigarette and going bang!

Answer 9

So if you have a leak you can smell it.

Answer 10

NATURAL GAS IS ODOURLESS....i think! you add smell to it so that you can detect leaks.