By: Rob Whitten
One of the major difficulties faced when dealing with odours is attempting to quantify the impact an odour is having on the surrounding areas. Far too often, a facility may be unaware of an off-site odour issue until they begin receiving odour complaints, and when a complaint is received they are unsure of how to verify it. This can make it difficult to track the source of an odour, or identify the events that led up to it.
Community odour surveys can be conducted quickly and may be more cost-effective than other odour monitoring options. Including a community odour survey as part of your odour management plan can act as an early warning system, perhaps allowing you to identify and control the odour source before it impacts the surrounding area. Additionally, a survey can be conducted at a location where an odour complaint was received as a way to not only verify the complaint but also show that you are taking action.
A Community Odour Survey Primer
A community odour survey involves a trained individual or individuals being deployed along the fence-line or in the actual community surrounding a facility. The survey involves collecting odour data qualitatively (with your nose), semi-quantitatively (with a portable field olfactometer) or quantitatively (with a monitoring device that targets specific odorous compounds such as hydrogen sulphide) at pre-determined locations. The surveyor also records general environmental conditions such as wind direction and other observations such as other potentially odorous facilities in the area.
Many companies use existing staff that are already walking the facility regularly such as security guards to be trained as surveyors. Survey locations can be included as part of a routine patrol route. This is a time and cost-efficient approach to ensuring that there is a regular collection of odour data in the surrounding community.
Items to consider when developing your survey
· Location: Will the survey be within the facility's property boundaries or in the community? Will it be at set locations, locations determined by wind direction, or locations where an odour is detected?
· Frequency: Will the survey be conducted on a regular schedule or will it be weather dependent? Will it only be conducted during certain process conditions, or when a complaint is received or an odour detected?
· Data: Will the data be qualitative, semi-quantitative or quantitative? Are the odours being generated by the facility detectable by a portable monitor?
· Additional measurements: Is there a benefit to meteorological measurements during the survey such as wind speed, wind direction, humidity, and rainfall? Are there process measurements that can be recorded at regular intervals or continuously that can be correlated to odour generation?
· Who will conduct the survey: Are there already personnel at the facility that can be trained to conduct the survey and if so which department will be responsible? Would you be better off to bring in an independent external expert trained in the conduct of community odour surveys which often is viewed more positively by an impacted community?
A survey may be as simple or complex as you wish and can be tailored to suit the needs of your facility. But, what all surveys have in common is a record of data collected by trained personnel that can be used for reporting, at stakeholder and community meetings, and as a tool for identification of odour sources and potential odour issues.
How can ORTECH help?
ORTECH provides comprehensive services to our clients to help them develop or enhance their community odour surveys.
· Screening of personnel to ensure an acceptable olfactometric response based on the methodology in the European Standard Method EN:13725.
· Training of personnel on how to perform a survey, and on specific survey equipment such as portable olfactometers.
· Ground-up development of a community odour survey or enhancing an existing survey to ensure your needs are being met.
· Preparation of an odour management plan and incorporating a survey into an existing plan.
· Conduct community odour survey and odour source testing to identify compounds that may be quantitatively identified during the survey using portable monitors.
