Services
Odor impact assessment
Objectives
- To model the odor footprint of a projected or existing site
- To assess the theoretical impact of odorous releases around the site
The odor impact assessment is carried out to:
- Meet regulatory requirements
- Assess the perimeter and the frequency of odor nuisances generated
- Determine the emission limits which must not be exceeded in order to meet air quality requirements
- Facilitate communication with residents and local authorities
Procedure
Expert engineers use a modeling system adapted to the site (topography, etc.) to retroactively simulate the dispersion of odors in the vicinity of the site over several years.
To do this, they use:
- The topographic data of the study area
- The weather data from previous years
- The characteristics of each emission source: odor flow rate, etc.
Results
The results report for each year studied contains:
- Dispersion maps, showing the extent and frequency of odor nuisances
- Theoretical odor concentrations calculated at points of interest located around the site (residential areas, etc.)
Focus on French law
The law of April 22, 2008 set an air quality target for composting and biological stabilization facilities subject to authorization: a limit value, at households within a 3 km radius of the facility of 5 ouE.m-3 not to be exceeded more than 175 h/year (2 % of the time).
The article 26 of the law also describes the impact study to be conducted when submitting a request for authorization to operate.
View the legislation >>
