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.

A federal license from Health Canada is required to cultivate, process and sell cannabis for medical or non-medical purposes. One of the public concerns regarding these licenses is mitigating odours from Cannabis related activities. This blog highlights the Good Production Practices to address and minimize potential odour impacts to the public.

According to the Cannabis Licensing Application Guide (the “Guide”), as part of the licensing application process, the applicant is required to provide a Good Production Practices (GPP) Report that clearly demonstrates how the GPP requirements will be met. GPP compliance may be verified at any time by Health Canada.

Of particular note, the October 2019 amendment to Part 5 Section 85 of Cannabis Regulations, states that any building, or part of a building, where cannabis or anything that will be used as an ingredient is produced, packaged, labelled, stored or tested must be equipped with a system that;

filters air to prevent the escape of odours associated with cannabis plant material to the outdoors;
provides natural or mechanical ventilation with sufficient air exchange to provide clean air and to remove unclean air in order to prevent the contamination of the cannabis or thing that will be used as an ingredient;
is accessible and, if necessary for its cleaning, maintenance or inspection, is capable of being disassembled;
is capable of withstanding repeated cleaning; and
functions in accordance with its intended use.

In the list of elements to demonstrate that GPP are applied, the Guide mentions “Description of air filtration system, including type, specifications, number and location of air filters installed (e.g., HEPA, carbon, charcoal, combination, portable filters) and a diagram and/or floor plan detailing the air filtration and ventilation system (e.g., air intake and air exhaust locations and direction of air flow within the building(s))”. Demonstrating compliance is the responsibility of the applicant.

The Guide also states “prior to submitting an application, applicants for licenses to cultivate, process and sell for medical purposes (with possession of cannabis) must provide with their application a copy of the written notice to local authorities who are located in the area of the proposed site, as part of their application”. Hence, local governments/municipalities play a vital role in regulating nuisance issues such as odours and noise at the community level. In addition, the Municipal Guide to Cannabis Legalization, April 2018, encourages local governments to focus efforts on proper use and operation of the odour control equipment and opt for proactive approaches to cannabis-related odour and nuisance abatement. This guide will be discussed further in a future blog posting. As an example, odour impact assessments and control plans might be included in requirements for rezoning applications or development approvals. Zoning setbacks, landscaping, buffers or similar requirements may be considered for certain types of facilities that are anticipated to cause odour or other nuisances.

For a successful cannabis license application It is imperative to demonstrate that odours or odour causing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the cannabis facilities will be adequately considered and controlled, if necessary,. Apart from more traditional carbon air filtration systems, there are various alternate odour control solutions (e.g. odour neutralization systems, ionization tube systems, ultra-violet technologies, etc.) which can be designed to meet the specific requirements of each facility.. It is worth noting that Public Health Ontario and Metro Vancouver refer to these alternate solutions as potential odour control options in their publications.

In summary, to help maximize the chance of a success, your Cannabis Licensing Application should demonstrate that Good Production Practices will be following which includes specific measures to address and minimize potential odour impacts.

Please contact info@ortech.ca for further information. We’d be happy to help.