I’ve had some odor complaints when occupying a question desk that had various answers.  An uncapped sewer outlet was one of the most found sources of a strange odor.  Many times it had no really definitive type of odor, but a musty odor was the most frequent.  The sources ranged from a dry floor drain – sometimes hidden – to an old urinal drain in the wall that had been walled off but had no cap.  I would check for something like that first.  The drain traps must be filled with water, or if not used, mineral oil that will not evaporate.

 

The rotten orange has also been one of my most frustrating finds.  During my Cal/OSHA days a bank had a complaint of runny eyes and a sharp but evanescent odor.  I searched high and low for hours and finally found a very rotten orange in a desk drawer.  It was so green it was overlooked in the first round of looking because it looked like a green sponge.

 

The odor identified may not be the actual one found.  Mimics are found and each person may have a different take on what it smells like.

 

Good luck on finding it,

Ken Smith (former CIH in retirement)

 

-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Timothy Hauser
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 1:35 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] odor question

 

I’ve had chemical odor complaints localized in office areas at several locations. The occupant would insist that it was caused by some chemical contamination or air flow issue from lab areas… Upon investigation it was caused by uncapped marker pens and once even by a moldy orange!

Tim

 

Timothy M. Hauser, CHMM
Manager, Environmental, Health & Safety

Promega Corporation
2800 Woods Hollow Road, Madison WI 53711 USA
Timothy.Hauser**At_Symbol_Here**promega.com | Direct (608) 298-4807 | Cell: (262) 844-1665 | Fax: (608) 277-2677

 

 

 

This may sound strange, but some of the men's urinal deodorant blocks have similar chemicals.