Abstract
The evaluation of odor emissions and dispersion is a very arduous topic to face; the real-time monitoring of odor emissions, the identification of chemical components and, with proper certainty, the source of annoyance represent a challenge for stakeholders such as local authorities. The complaints of people, often not systematic and variously distributed, in general do not allow us to quantify the perceived annoyance. Experimental research has been performed to detect and evaluate olfactory annoyance, based on field testing of an innovative monitoring methodology grounded in automatic recording of citizen alerts. It has been applied in Taranto, in the south of Italy where a relevant industrial area is located, by using Odortel® for automated collection of citizen alerts. To evaluate its reliability, the collection system has been integrated with automated samplers, able to sample odorous air in real time, according to the citizen alerts of annoyance and, moreover, with meteorological data (especially the wind direction) and trends in odor marker compounds, recorded by air quality monitoring stations. The results have allowed us, for the first time, to manage annoyance complaints, test their reliability, and obtain information about the distribution and entity of the odor phenomena, such that we were able to identify, with supporting evidence, the source as an oil refinery plant.
Highlights
The collection system has been integrated with automated samplers, able to sample odorous air in real time, according to the citizen alerts of annoyance and, with meteorological data and trends in odor marker compounds, recorded by air quality monitoring stations
Olfactory annoyance is felt to be an indicator of an unhealthy environment by the population [1]; as this considerably complicates the overall assessment of odor pollution, more innovative methodologies compared to simple air quality monitoring are needed [2]
This paper focuses on the first application of an automatic system, called Odortel®, developed to collect citizen alerts and record them in real time
Summary
Olfactory annoyance is felt to be an indicator of an unhealthy environment by the population [1]; as this considerably complicates the overall assessment of odor pollution, more innovative methodologies compared to simple air quality monitoring are needed [2]. Public Health 2016, 13, 263 perception, the only application of standardized methodologies for the monitoring and control of emissions is not sufficient to provide useful information about the overall understanding of odor phenomena [9] For this reason, where industrial plants causes olfactory annoyance to the population, it should be fundamental to endorse the role of people participation to assess exposure to odors [10,11]. People exposed to annoyance variously address their worries to the local authorities (municipalities, police, environmental agencies, etc.), who are often overwhelmed by frequent complaints; they should evaluate the reliability and objectivity of the complaints and identify the potential source, in order to start monitoring activity and give prompt answers To achieve this task, different critical aspects have to be managed: the collection of complaints in a systematic way, the verification of odor events in the field, and their measurement. The information provided by citizens, about time and duration of events has been compared with trends in odor marker compounds recorded by air quality monitoring stations
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