Mystery *maple syrup* smell in NYC...gov't not saying what it really is...

[deanws]

there are factories that make concentrated checmicals for smell & taste, for the mass market... a couple years ago, there was a lawsuit that employees of such a company (one that made popcorn butter for microwaves & movie theaters) had started, due to permanent lung damage from boiling vats of the stuff...

http://www.usatoday.com/money/general/2002/06/20/popcorn-factory.htm

so maybe if there is such a company near manhattan, and perhaps they had a huge bio-spill?? one wonders why they would have to cover it up-- from fear of being fined i suppose? however, just the fact that is was detected over such a huge area, and no one seems to know about any such factory, is a bit scary. there must be something else going on here.. i'm sure the government conspiracy folks are going hog wild with this one!

I remember when that story broke. It is really sad isn't it?

 

[Norma]

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051029-013713-1266r

New York City officials say they have not been able to determine the source of what many called a sweet smell like maple syrup or pancakes.

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that tests had been conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection, the Health Department and other city agencies, but no toxic substance was found for the smell that seemed most prominent in Manhattan Thursday, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.

 

[CyberLaw]

Apparently this was smelled in New Jersery.......also.

Can anyone tell me what the wind was like that night. The smell may have originated from a distant place and carried by the wind.

 

[Sassygerl]

Are people still smelling it????

 

[blueclouds]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Martha Stewart?

That's actually quite scary. THE REVENGE OF MARTHA...... :dance:

 

[H0NEYWEST]

I found this post on a thread for de-icing aircraft...

http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/print.main?id=1324019

"I do not believe that they use ethylene glycol anymore. Tastes sweet, harmful to vertebrates, highly poisonous, and generally shuts down kidney function first. However they still use it for coolant in most automobiles.
Generally were talking about propylene glycol these days. Used as a sweetener in cake mixes, soda pop and other food items. Extremely sweet not very harmful to the environment. Get some spray near a running APU or engine smells like caramel, maple syrup type, burned sugar smell."

 

[H0NEYWEST]

Hmmmm. A search of "propylene glycol" and "new york" revealed this site.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/press/99-01pr.html

In 1999 it was reported, "De-icing fluid detected by Westchester County in the Rye Lake section of New York City's Kensico Reservoir does not impact New York City's water supply system and is not hazardous to human health."

"The de-icing fluid, propylene glycol, which emanated from the Westchester County Airport, is the most commonly used de-icing compound and is also used as a food additive."

Another article on de-icing reports, "Chemicals, too, can keep wings ice-free in flight. A system called “weeping wings,” which is used on some smaller planes, lets the deicing fluid ethylene glycol ooze out of tiny holes and wash over the leading edge of wings."

http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_tea.html?id=c373e9f9697bff5d8f6a4fd8fe800100

I'm wondering if a plane with a "weeping wings" system was flying over the area and when the de-icer dripped off near the engines it created the smell. Just a theory by someone who never took chemistry :crazy:

 

[Tristan]

To the person who asked what the weather conditions were the night of the maple syrup smell...it was VERY windy.
In fact, that is why I closed my windows...it got too cold.

I'm hoping it wasn't dangerous.

 

[CyberLaw]

So the smelll could have originated from quite a distance away because it was so windy the evening of the "mystery smell".

Maybe from a distant airport, like Newark......

 

[Norma]

 

[beakiebean]

A lot of the companies than manufacture smells and flavors for the food industry are located along a strip of road in New Jersey-perhaps some manufactured fragrance leaked out of one of thier buildings? I know some smells can be very strong with just a couple drops of chemical-I wonder if a beakerfull is enough to scent New York?

Becca

 

[Shortcake21]

:laugh: http://detroit.metblogs.com/archives/images/2005/10/IHOPsmall.JPG

LOL, Pook

 

[CyberLaw]

What does IHOP mean?

 

[lcookster]

International House of Pancakes.

 

[Casshew]

Great one Pook :clap:

 

[BrendaStar]

Great last witch, Cass!

 

[NK57]

Hmmmm. A search of "propylene glycol" and "new york" revealed this site.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/press/99-01pr.html

In 1999 it was reported, "De-icing fluid detected by Westchester County in the Rye Lake section of New York City's Kensico Reservoir does not impact New York City's water supply system and is not hazardous to human health."

"The de-icing fluid, propylene glycol, which emanated from the Westchester County Airport, is the most commonly used de-icing compound and is also used as a food additive."

Another article on de-icing reports, "Chemicals, too, can keep wings ice-free in flight. A system called “weeping wings,” which is used on some smaller planes, lets the deicing fluid ethylene glycol ooze out of tiny holes and wash over the leading edge of wings."

http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/feature_tea.html?id=c373e9f9697bff5d8f6a4fd8fe800100

I'm wondering if a plane with a "weeping wings" system was flying over the area and when the de-icer dripped off near the engines it created the smell. Just a theory by someone who never took chemistry :crazy:

Holy cow, I only live about 5 miles away from the Westchester County Airport. I wonder if this could be the culprit?

Nancy

 

[concernedperson]

Syrup smell returns. No answer yet.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178299,00.html

 

[capps]

That's it!
What a clever marketing ploy by IHOP!
All the IHOP's in NYC made huge vats of maple syrup,and placed industrial fans in front of the vats ..... people all across NYC lining up at their local IHOP restaurant, to eat pancakes! How smart of IHOP!.....LOL.

 

[Hammerized]

That's it!
What a clever marketing ploy by IHOP!
All the IHOP's in NYC made huge vats of maple syrup,and placed industrial fans in front of the vats ..... people all across NYC lining up at their local IHOP restaurant, to eat pancakes! How smart of IHOP!.....LOL.

LOL! You know, I have to wonder about that... (OK, I *want* to wonder about that :bang: )

IHOP & Bickfords's rule! I don't think I could resist that *smell* for long, when I knew I could "get me some" just a short distance away...

Rootie Tootie Fresh 'N Fruity, yo! :dance: