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snerdaferda t1_j8xv6er wrote

This is all really strange, I can’t smell it at all and have no residue on my car or anything. I can’t tell if it’s real or mass hysteria.

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RhaenyrasUncle t1_j8xxcvy wrote

Replying to snerdaferda (#1,846,809)

Hysteria.

Rain always smells weird this time of year because theres so much road salt everywhere. And the rain rehydrates the dissolved salt on our vehicles, leaving dark muddy spots, that people think are "acid rain".

That being said, things are much different in East Palestine, OH.

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snerdaferda t1_j8xy4ab wrote

Replying to FoodGuy44 (#1,846,985)

I mean the harbor always kind of has a smell. I will just chalk it up to the weather, it’s been like 60’F out the past couple days, and I’m no meteorologist but it’s probably some flavor of petrichor.

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neogonzo t1_j8y0goc wrote

I noticed it on my car Wednesday night, I had to wipe it off the side windows with paper towels it was so filmy and dirty. just chalked it up to winter weather but... that's not what it was.

It is back on there this morning. Drove down Rt 2 today and all the white cars were dirty with it. Had to run my windshield wipers about 2x as often even in light rain. Something is definitely not totally normal out there.

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HANDSUMCLEANR t1_j8y772u wrote

Seems like people are trying to make a big deal out of something that isn't there. I live in Brighton biked to work. nO CHemicAL SmeLL.

Checked my car, no residue. I think some of you are full of shit and bored.

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snerdaferda t1_j8yavc5 wrote

Replying to tylerrific (#1,847,146)

I can smell something different so it must be a giant natural disaster and I’m going to get cancer and die

Edit: also it happened two weeks ago why do people think it got here today? Jesus.

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[deleted] t1_j8yaxk3 wrote

Replying to snerdaferda (#1,846,809)

Plus this is reddit - I've seen several threads like "how worried should I be" and I don't even bother clicking because I'm sure it's nothing but "you and probably everyone you hold dear are already dead".

After the reaction to COVID here my "trust" in reddit has waned just a bit

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stargrown t1_j8ybpf3 wrote

There was a solvent smell last week on that foggy morning before the Ohio shit went down, at least in JP. Was very odd, never experience anything quite like it.

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Drunkelves t1_j8yclp9 wrote

Replying to neogonzo (#1,847,242)

>winter weather but... that's not what it was.

That's exactly what it is. Your car is dirty and the humidity in the air condenses on the cool metal and glass on your car and when it dries you see all the grime that the condensation collected.

-black car owner obsessed with keeping it clean.

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neogonzo t1_j8ydbuw wrote

Replying to Drunkelves (#1,848,272)

yeah, that is what I was figuring Wednesday. honestly I wiped it off, didn't really think much of it. I can't think of the last time I had to wash the outside of my side windows with a paper towel, but it did seem humid and surely there is some road grime etc.

But the fact that is there again this morning - after a drizzle overnight/light rain today - all I can tell you is that the rain itself was not a wet as you typically see. Not sure that it's chemicals from OH (could it be dust from OK/TX storms?) but it's filmy.

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BrainOfTarth t1_j8yf0rs wrote

Replying to stargrown (#1,848,159)

If you are looking for “public” health guidance, go sign up for updates from your government. In this case, Braintree residents received guidance from their local government.

The Boston Globe is a private business and is allowed to require a subscription to read an article about something the government has suggested to residents. They should not be forced to provide that story to you for free.

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BrainOfTarth t1_j8ygi2e wrote

Replying to stargrown (#1,848,509)

The government is that exact entity you are looking for.

There are also plenty of American media sites who do not have paywalls. Many with this exact story. They of course are still compensated via other means, but I wouldn’t label paywalls as an American thing or say America has a paywall problem when it comes to news from public officials.

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/trucks-burn-at-braintree-facility-neighbors-asked-to-stay-inside-close-windows/2976358/

https://www.masslive.com/police-fire/2023/02/braintree-fire-thursday-night-cleared-after-residents-asked-to-stay-indoors.html?utm_campaign=masslivenews&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

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TheSlayer696969 t1_j8ygs17 wrote

I definitely smelled something akin to bleach / chloride, in our kitchen, after leaving the windows open all night for fresh air... bad choice. This was after reading the other posts asking about whether the vinyl chloride gas can make it's way over to Boston. The fact that we both smelled the same type of smell means it was real, not imagined. Just unclear if it's from the Braintree fire or made its way over from Ohio. Didnt seem to smell like phosgene or vinyl chloride, at least according to how wikipedia describes the smell of those gases.

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randomlurker82 t1_j8yh562 wrote

I went out to my car around 9:30 this morning and it had white spots where the rain had dried on it. I thought it looked like salt but they haven't been using road salt that much lately...was kinda weird yeah.

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neogonzo t1_j8yscm1 wrote

Replying to jojenns (#1,849,554)

sorry that sounds a little preposterous, but you know perhaps if you have a wintry mix of snow/rain, it looks a little slushy as you wipe it from your glass windshield? Or if you are driving behind a Tractor Trailer on the Pike after a blizzard, and your windshield is just coated with a salty sludge? It was like that, except just with the precipitation that collected on my car on Wednesday and again through this morning's weather. The rain seemed to leave a filmy, or grimy streak/residue. When driving, we were prompted to wash the windshield noticeably often. Again I have no information that it's related to pollution but it just looked like rain but did not run off, wipe off, bead up etc. the best way I can describe it was that it was just not as wet. more viscous.

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earlylarge t1_j8z91ld wrote

Still waiting on my sense of smell to return from Covid 14 months ago

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AwkwardSpread t1_j8znecp wrote

That’s my new East Palestine fragrance, you’re welcome

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_MUY t1_j918qoq wrote

Replying to New-Shoulder2384 (#1,855,996)

The close button on the Globe paywall is not always there. I get it on some devices and not others, some IP addresses and not others as well. I don’t have it on my phone at home right now, for example, so if I wanted to read this article I would have to switch to my laptop.

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BlindBeard t1_j91m7km wrote

I was working in Pittsfield yesterday and when I got home (near foxboro) there was a pretty apparent strange smell in the air. Definitely not the normal rain smell. It was just strange.

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New-Vegetable-1274 t1_j94h1fs wrote

In the early 1900s a huge holding tank filled with molasses burst in the North end and flooded the streets. It killed a bunch a bunch of people and animals. It took a long time to clean up and they say the smell lasted for decades. I've heard that on hot summer days in the North end there's still an occasional whiff of molasses in the air. I think that is probably urban legend but the molasses flood really happened.

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