2 thoughts on “Illness caused by Calif. gas leak not caused by methane”
A bit of methyl mercaptan can empty an office building and cause all kinds of psychosomatic symptoms.
Odors can be psychologically very powerful. Certain scents, especially those which are hard to ignore such as the mercaptan ‘odorants’ added to natural gas before distribution, can educe memories and other associations and even symptoms of illness totally out of proportion to the actual exposure.
Personally, I am overly sensitive to the odor of patchouli oil, to which my body responds by immediately shutting down my breathing until I am away from the source of the stench.
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A bit of methyl mercaptan can empty an office building and cause all kinds of psychosomatic symptoms.
Odors can be psychologically very powerful. Certain scents, especially those which are hard to ignore such as the mercaptan ‘odorants’ added to natural gas before distribution, can educe memories and other associations and even symptoms of illness totally out of proportion to the actual exposure.
Personally, I am overly sensitive to the odor of patchouli oil, to which my body responds by immediately shutting down my breathing until I am away from the source of the stench.