Foul odor reported across a dozen Chicago suburbs. Could weather be to blame?
Residents across multiple Chicago suburbs are complaining about a foul odor that's plaguing their neighborhoods since the weekend.
Calls about a chemical or burning odor kept fire crews busy from near the Wisconsin border to northwest Indiana. Some residents have described the smell as similar to chemicals or sewage, some even saying it smelled like burning metal.
While it remains unclear exactly what the source of the odor is, experts said it could have something to do with the warm air trapped up above.
"So for the last several days, as you go up in our atmosphere," said Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon.
He said the smell could be a result of warm air that's trapping ozone pollution in our atmosphere.
"That temperature inversion, again, that's what's trapping ozone pollution, that's what's making the sky so milky. That's what's reducing the air quality, and that may be the reason why we're smelling something funny in the atmosphere," he said.
People described different smells in different areas — from Bloomingdale to Roselle to Addison and Wood Dale, even to Buffalo Grove and the Wisconsin border. Posts on social media said the odor smelled like fertilizer, even like the Roundup weed killer.
Fire crews have been hearing about it too.
Fire officials in the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills area and even across the Wisconsin border in Kenosha County said they received multiple 911 calls about an unknown odor described as a chemical or burning electrical smell in the air. They said the odor appears to be originating from a location south of them.
According to Ramon, if the weather is behind the smell, it could be moving out as early as Tuesday.
"I think the true telltale sign, if wind is indeed the cause, is tomorrow, by midday, we get a front, the winds will be out of the north. They'll bring us some fresher air," he said.
CBS Chicago reached out to the BP refinery in Northwest Indiana. They said they have no reason to believe the smell is related to their operations.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency confirmed they are "investigating the odor complaints" and are "reaching out to other local units that may have received complaints or responded."
