Air Monitoring - UK Focus xi
The Science of Smell can Aid Environmental Monitoring
Odour pollution might sound less serious than other forms of environmental contamination, but it can be debilitating and have a truly negative impact on people’s quality of life. Even a well-run site can quickly run into problems if processes are stalled or important equipment fails.
Environmental regulators traditionally collect samples and use olfactory panels, ‘human sniffers’, to assess sites that regularly receive complaints about odour pollution. But there are many variables that can influence the scale of the problem – from treatment processes to prevailing weather conditions. It is not uncommon for a site involved in odorous processes to frequently veer between nuisance and acceptable levels of odour.
What’s more, there is inevitably a subjectivity factor when using olfactory panels. How do you define the exact moment when an acceptable odour becomes a nuisance? It is difficult to measure odours objectively and build an accurate picture over time.
This is set to change. With sophisticated ‘electronic nose’ equipment now available from Enviro Technology Services (UK) for odour monitoring, facilities can develop intelligence-led solutions to minimise odour pollution.
The first step is to compile an inventory of on-site odour sources, including their size and location. Monitoring the odour they produce enables potential problems to be identified, and these can be prioritised for attention. On a day-to-day basis, electronic nose technology can act as a safety net, identifying potential nuisance odours at an early stage and alerting site managers before they reach a level where they would cause human discomfort.
But this rapid response activity is just one element of a best practice approach to odour management. As data is gathered over a period of time, it can be overlaid with information about meteorological conditions. Other external factors that influence the dispersion of odours, such as the surrounding terrain, can also be taken into account.
By marrying and analysing historical odour data with external factors, a predictive approach can be developed, drawing on prevailing seasonal meteorological conditions and ongoing weather forecasts.
Building a better understanding of the causes of odour problems means processes can be optimised to reduce the risk. This facilitates decision making and a ‘continuous improvement’ approach to odour management. It can also aid the development of high-performance, cost-effective odour mitigation strategies that enable precise and timely use of resources such as odour neutralising or masking chemicals.
Results analysis should also form an important part of the ongoing strategy. Performance can be assessed in terms of the overall measurement of odours, the number of times per year that odours reach nuisance levels, and the number of times potentially nuisance odours are nipped in the bud. It is important to log and track complaints from neighbouring residents, as well as instigating a follow-up procedure when complaints do happen.
Organisations in France, where the electronic nose was developed, are already benefitting from best practice approaches to odour management. Facilities that have used the technology as a component of well-planned strategies have seen significant cost savings through reduced use of chemicals. And in some cases, complaints from locals have dropped from an average of 26 per year to zero.
With a best practice approach, sites can control odour – rather than having odour control them.
Reader Reply Card No. Reader Reply Card No. 156
www.envirotech-online.com IET September / October 2012 155
The Importance of Personal Development in the Field of Environmental Monitoring and MCERTS
In the current economic climate, expenditure by organisations on training has suffered a downturn. It is viewed by many that training is non-essential, and the focus is on maintaining profit margins.
However, continual improvement of staff understanding and knowledge within the areas they work should increase productivity and motivation. Plant owners also have a responsibility to ensure their staff is kept up-to-date with latest technical guidance and requirements.
With the growing acceptance of the MCERTS schemes in the UK, Europe and further afield, it is now more important than ever that manufacturers, process operators and stack-emission monitoring personnel are kept fully abreast of changes to legislation and policy.
CSA-Sira, the MCERTS Certification provider, offers a range of training courses covering the various regulatory requirements for environmental monitoring, including:
All courses are delivered by practicing experts and engineers and are conducted at Sira training locations or at your own site.
Sira also delivers the MCERTS Personnel Competence Scheme, the scheme that enables stack-emission monitoring personnel to be certified as competent in their emission-monitoring tasks. More Information
To receive a copy of the Sira 2012 training & competence programme, or to discuss your MCERTS training needs with Sira, please contact us: Tel: +44 (0) 1244 670 900 or Email:
training@siraconsulting.com
Reader Reply Card No. 154
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