Odour nuisance – advantages and disadvantages of a quantitative approach

Abstract

The benefits of a quantitative approach to odour nuisance may be thought obvious: much better value for money should be obtained from abatement measures. New works can be appropriately sited and appropriately designed. Thesebenefits are only realised however if the quantitative approach chosen is reliable. The components of possible quantitative approaches, – olfactometry – estimates of emission rates – dispersion models – quality standards, are discussed with the limitations and sources of error in each. When using a quantitative approach it is necessary to distinguish between a poor method in which the levels of error are unknown and a good method for which the levels of error can be defined. A quantitative approach should allow different methods for odour control: septicity control using chemicals, operational modifications to reduce turbulenceand covering and treatment of air, to be evaluated on a common footing.