"PHILADELPHIA — Melissa Ostroff finds gas leaks for a living, so it was surprising to hear someone say they smelled gas in her own home.

As part of her job with the environmental group Earthworks, Ostroff searches gas drilling and production sites in Pennsylvania for plumes of methane, a big driver of climate change. A few years back, her family visited her south Philadelphia row home for the holidays.

"When my sister entered the house, she told me she smelled gas," Ostroff says. Knowing that gas utility meters are a big source of leaks, that was the first place she examined with a device she uses for her job. "There was a small but very continuous leak coming from a pipe fitting around the gas meter.""

Jeff Brady reports for NPR December 20, 2024. [2]