Odour impact assessment

Odours emitted by multi-source facilities, like industrial complexes, have become a major concern for local authorities because the resulting annoyance in the neighbourhood is generally high compex compared to a single source one. In the case of such multi-source odour emissions especially, common chemical analyses or odour concentration measurement methods are not often applicable. This paper describes the methodology adopted for assessing the odour impact on the industrial area of the city of Salerno (Italy), caused by the co-presence of two strategic plants: wastewater treatment plant and composting plant of organic fraction of solid waste. The combination of olfactometric analyses and dispersion modelling allowed both the quantification of the odour emissions and the evaluation of their potential impact on the surrounding areas. Odour impact criteria, input parameters and emissive rate were evaluated. Results discuss and compare different emissive scenarios to assessment odour impacts in the industrial area.

Nuisances caused by odours have become a major environmental problem in recent decades. Odorous emissions can cause serious impacts on community well-being and quality of life. Thus, appropriate regulatory tools are needed to prevent or mitigate such impacts. In this context, an approach of legal procedures for odour nuisance control is proposed, in view of the Brazilian reality. For that, a bibliographical and documental research about the various elements that make up the environmental issues related to odour emissions is performed, including a survey of the current laws and regulations on atmospheric pollution and odours. The analysis of the national regulatory framework revealed that, in general, requirements for odour control nuisance are based on the principles of the Common Law and pointed out the limitations of the currently employed approaches. The approach proposed in this work provides for the adoption of the Best Available Techniques and considers the different factors that affect odour impacts, collectively known as FIDOL (Frequency, Intensity, Duration, Offensiveness and Location). It also includes community participation in the assessment of the perceived impacts. More specifically, the proposed approach is based on the establishment of guidelines for Minimum Separation Distances, Maximum Emission Standards, Maximum Impact Standards and Maximum Annoyance Standards. Methods for odour impact assessment in the environmental permitting process of potentially polluting facilities and procedures for investigating odour complaints are also included. It is hoped that this work could contribute to the dissemination of knowledge in the field of olfactometry and collaborate for the development of public policies for odour nuisance control in Brazil.

One of the most reliable methods for the prediction of odour impact from environmental facilities, strongly influenced by topography and local atmospheric dynamics, involves the use of atmospheric dispersion models.The present study focuses on the implementation of a dispersion model for the prediction of odour impact from a large and complex landfill system, localized in Borgo Montello (Latina), in the Lazio Region (Central Italy). The Calpuff dispersion model was selected for the simulations of odour impact, since it is well recognized as the preferred model for assessing the long range transport of pollutants. The odour emission rates, which are the inputs to the dispersion model, were defined on the basis of dynamic olfactometric analyses on air samples taken in the landfills areas. Different scenarios were simulated, with the aim of evaluating the odour impact caused by a project of landfill expansion through height raise. The environmental odour impacts were assessed through t...