Intel causes a stink
FOUL SULPHURIC odoors emanating from evaporation ponds have residents in the Arizona town of Chandler up in arms. The ponds, built to treat purified wastewater pumped from Intel's reverse osmosis system, allow mineral-heavy portions to evaporate so the solids can be safely removed.
But gasping Chandler resident Steve LeMay told the city council that he" couldn't stand" to walk into his garage because the smell had become unbearable.
According to assistant municipal utilities director Bob Mulvey, the fetid " rotten egg" odours, exacerbated by the hot summer, are caused by the accumulation of organic material in the water from birds, high temperatures and wind.
Jim Larsen, environmental health and safety manager for Intel, noted the company is designing an advanced aeration system to stop the smell. Spurred on by the sickening smell and irate residents, a simple aeration system was installed last week, but it quickly malfunctioned.
"I don't blame the residents for complaining, and I wish I could snap my fingers and make it go away," he told AZCental. "But we want to design the right system so this will never happen again and that takes time. We want to get this problem solved so it doesn't happen any more." ยต
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Rotten egg smell means hydrogen sulfide, which is poisonous. "Sulphuric" is an acceptable adjective but because of its connotation of high oxidation state "sulfurous" is better in this context.
I live in the Awhatukee area which is just west of Chandler. Everytime I make a 5 minute drive over to the Chandler mall, I smell something foul. I can vouch for the putrid odor.
Only a chemist would appreciate the "sulfurous" comment. For the unwashed masses, the article sounds pretty good. But for those of use with a bit more scientific background, i.e. a degree in Biophysics, the comments rings much more true. Albeit, most people don't care one way or the other, thanks for advancing scientific thought on the internet.
It always feels good to know one remembers stuff from 35 years back. In this case, hydrogen sulfide dissolved in water is called hydrosulfuric acid.

Sulfurous acid would be sulfur dioxide in water while sulfuric acid would be sulfur trioxide in water.

Sulfur dioxide would smell of burning sulfur.

Of the three, only sulfuric acid is not stinky and is the real acid if you ask any self-respecting chemist.
why the semiconductor industry was born in the Satan Clara Valley. Most would say that it was cheap land and a ready talent pool thanks to nearby Stanford U. but the whole place once smelled of rotten eggs probably from well water used in agriculture. No one would have noticed a little added sulfurous emissions from the nascent chip works.