Concern has been raised among residents of several areas in Attica due to a gas smell in the southern suburbs, with some even suggesting a possible earthquake connection. In a social media post, seismologist Gerasimos Papadopoulos, while not giving much credibility to this scenario, emphasized that in the past, the release of noble gases has been observed in certain cases.
Read: Mystery with intense gas smell that covered southern suburbs of Attica (Video)
Papadopoulos’ post about gas smell and earthquake possibility
His detailed statement reads: “The smell in Attica, I don’t think it’s related to an upcoming earthquake. The causes should be sought elsewhere, but I’m not an expert in this field. Before strong earthquakes, the release of noble gases, such as radon, has been observed in certain cases. But these are odorless and detected by appropriate meters. Here we don’t have such a case.”
Two possible scenarios
Meanwhile, Demosthenes Sarigianni, Director and Chairman of the Board of the National Research Foundation, mentioned two scenarios speaking to SKAI TV: “It comes from the sea. Two scenarios: The first, more likely one, is that the source area is in the triangle of Aegina, Salamis, Perama. With two possible sources. One is the repair zone of Salamis-Perama, the strait. The process of constructing or repairing ship parts can release the chemicals that were smelled.
The second scenario is that offshore from Aegina there’s an anchored tanker that cleaned its tanks.” “Last year around the same period we had a similar problem. We ran the meteorological models backwards and it’s in the same area. There’s seasonality. I believe these substances are tracers we add to hydrocarbons to avoid leaks. They don’t have intense toxicity except for the neurotoxicity component.”
