Is That Gas I Smell, Or Cinnamon?

A gas pipeline was being fixed in Harlem and officials didn't want a flood of 911 calls from people smelling gas. So they masked the smell by adding cinnamon to the gas.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep. A special odor is added to natural gas. You know that smell meant to warn you of possible trouble? Last weekend, New York officials added an odor to mask the odor. They were fixing a pipeline in Harlem, and didn't want a flood of 9-1-1 calls over gas leaks that weren't considered dangerous because they were in the open.

So they masked the smell by adding cinnamon to the gas. We have no word if area coffee shops sold out of rolls.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.