Bad Odour:
Pressure State Response Indicators

Processing animal products releases air emissions, both as part of the production process and in the disposal of wastes. Air emissions include particulate matter - particularly smoke, and volatile organic and inorganic compounds. | Pressure State Response

The impact of air emissions can be assessed in terms of measurable environmental health aspects, but as "odour" is both subjective and linked to other environmental conditions must also be reviewed in subjective terms.

Different levels of ambient odour are acceptable in different cultures and in different places. To a vegetarian any smell of animal processing may be unacceptable. In rural communities low level and intermittent smell from manure may be acceptable.

As a result it is difficult to quantify "state" indicators except in terms of subjective acceptable levels, as opposed as to levels at which health risks are incurred.

Pressure

The pressure on the environment - specifically in this case covering aesthetic and amenity value of the environment - is the cumulative effect of all enterprises with air emissions.

It is therefore necessary to look at the animal products processing industries within the context of their neighbouring industrial activities.

Pressure is characterised by:

- The type of enterprise - animal production unit, slaughterhouse, tannery or milk plant;
- The scale of the enterprise - small, medium or large;
- The technology used - high, medium or low;
- The method used for waste treatment and disposal;
- The number of similar or comparable enterprises with air emissions - including those from other sectors.

State

State is more problematic than pressure or response. There are no inherent indicators to indicate a decline in state, until a point is reached at which toxic affects might occur.

The general approach taken is to take emission levels - as established in regulations - and to measure state with respect to these acceptable levels. Again the problem of "allowable" discharge occurs, and the need to differentiate between "end of pipe" pollution impact and "beginning of pipe" discharge allowance.

State is generally characterised indirectly by:

- Measurable levels of volatile compounds in the atmosphere;
- Measurable level of particulate matter;

And rather more pragmatically by the response of people who live in the area adjacent or downwind of the polluting industries. The state indicator might then become the number of complaints made to the regulating body.

Additional problems with measuring state include both the seasonal impact variations, intermittent discharge, seasonal discharge and dispersal effects of climate.

Response

The control of odour relies largely on legislation of acceptable levels of emissions, and then some form of monitoring and policing to ensure that these guidelines are adhered to.

Given that in the majority of air emissions, "acceptable" levels are well below toxic levels, the establishment of these levels must be a subjective response to peoples response to different levels of air pollutants.

Response is characterised by:

- Regulations, and ammendment of regulations to specific local requirements; specification of acceptable discharge levels for volatile compounds and particulate matter (smoke);
- Specification of required technologies;
- Monitoring effort by regulating agencies;
- Prosecution or other interventions by regulatory agencies.

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