A strange smell that permeated the air in parts of Waterloo Region Monday morning may have come from a factory in Breslau.
For most of the morning, emergency crews were kept busy responding to complaints of unusual odours from various parts of the region, including Breslau as well as the east sides of Kitchener and Waterloo.
At first, it was difficult to determine where the smell was coming from. Union Gas reported that it was not a natural gas leak.
The issue was eventually traced to Safety-Kleen’s oil recycling facililty in Breslau. While there was a gas-like odour there, it was not clear if it was the same smell noticed in other parts of the region.
The odour in question was part of a “routine maintenance shutdown” and was not dangerous to human health, Safety-Kleen spokesperson Dale MacIntyre said. The maintenance is typically carried out twice a year.
“If it did come from us, we do certainly apologize for any impact to the local community,” MacIntyre said.
With reporting by Stu Gooden
