Caught a whiff of a 'gas-like' odour? Don't worry, say SCDF and NEA

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has assured citizens that there has been no presence of "Toxic Industrial Chemicals in the air" in the North-Eastern part of Singapore, following calls about the smell of gas or burning material there.

Complaints about the odour appeared on the online forums such as Reddit and Hardware Zone at about 5pm. Many netizens said that the smell appeared to be largely confined to the North-Eastern parts of Singapore in areas like Sengkang, Hougang, Buangkok and Ang Mo Kio.

SCDF said it has deployed its "resources to investigate" and found nothing amiss, and is closely monitoring the situation together with the National Environment Agency (NEA).

"Our monitoring teams have not detected the presence of Toxic Industrial Chemicals in the air," the SCDF said in a Facebook post at around 10pm.

In a seperate Facebook post at about 10.35pm, the NEA said it deployed its officers to the reported areas to investigate. Air quality levels during the period were found to be well within safety limits.

"Since about 3pm today, winds were light and there was some convergence of winds over the northern half of Singapore, which might have led to an accumulation of smells in the northern area of Singapore," the NEA wrote in its post.

"Winds are expected to turn to blow from the south or southeast later tonight, which will help to disperse any smells in the area. NEA will continue to closely monitor the situation."

Similar complaints have surfaced in the past.

In 2013, there were complaints of a "foul odour" in Punggol and Sengkang. An NEA spokesman then said that the smell could have possibly "emanated from palm oil industries".

NEA however ruled out industries near Punggol as the cause of the smell, after inspections of their equipment, processes, operations and records "did not reveal any abnormalities or issues in their operations" that could be behind the "chemical smell as mentioned in the feedback".