Smelly carrots question

I love carrots and usually buy local or organic ones now, but recently I was lured into buying some non-organic ones at my local supermarket due to a sale. As soon as I pulled them out of my shopping bag, I could smell a very strong chemical odor. (It was a 3 pound bag.) I have noticed this before when I have purchased carrots and am wondering what this is all about. If the smell is so strong, it really makes me think about using them.

As an experiment, I soaked about 6 of them in a mixture of white vinegar and water. Then I peeled one to see if there was a difference. It still smelled. A bit less, but not much.

As I said, this is not the first time I have noticed this. The carrots look decent. But the smell is really weird. Any clues or am I just ultra- sensitive in the nasal passages? And would you eat them/ cook with them?