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Odour Assessments & Odour Management

More than just a bad smell? We can help...

Regulating odour is one of the most challenging areas of air quality management. Odour is a highly complex and subjective issue, and what is offensive to one person may not be offensive to another.

What is classed as an "Odour"?

According to the ‘Odour Guide for Local Authorities' document, an odour is; the organoleptic attribute perceptible by the olfactory organ on sniffing certain volatile substances. It is a property of odorous substances that makes them perceptible to our sense of smell.

The term odour refers to the stimuli from a chemical compound that is volatilised in air. Odour is our perception of that sensation, and we interpret what odour means. Odours may be perceived as pleasant or unpleasant. The main concern with odour is its ability to cause a response in individuals that is considered to be objectionable or offensive.

Odour Management Legislation

Nuisances caused by odours are regulated by the statutory nuisance provisions in the Environment Protection Act 1990, which identifies specific types of pollution, including odours.

The Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 (PPC Regulations) include in their definition of pollution:

‘emissions as a result of human activity which cause offence to any human senses’.

This allows enforcement notices to be issued, should odours occur.

Employer

Responsibilities

Under the current Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Occupiers Liability Act 1984, an employer has a duty of care to ensure that a safe and healthy environment is provided. The Approved Code of Practice accompanying the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations states that:

‘indoor air quality should be at least equal to, but ideally better than, the air outside your building’.

Unfortunately, this is rarely the case, with the internal air generally between 5 and 50 times worse than externally – especially within our busy cities and commercial and industrial premises.

You must take measures necessary to prevent odour pollution or minimise it when prevention is not practicable. The appropriate measures to take will depend on your industry sector and your site-specific circumstances and will take costs and benefits into account.

We Specialise in Odour Management and Assessments

Air quality testing is important to help ensure your buildings safety and compliance to the latest legal requirements.

Book an Odour Assessment

Identifying And Assessing Odours

When emissions containing odorants are released into the atmosphere, they can impact the environment, including people. Under some circumstances, this could include an impact on the ecosystem or on human health, as a result of the chemicals causing the issue.

Key Considerations When Assessing Odours

Residents’ perception of the source of an odour, e.g., if it is from an undesirable source such as sewage works or an animal rendering plant, may influence their complaint behaviour and expectations of resolution. Social and psychological factors sometimes have a greater bearing on odour perception than actual exposure.

Regardless, prompt (and decisive) investigative and regulatory action should help prevent complaint fatigue.

How to assess odours

A combination of two site operators and odour-sensitive receptors is a sensible starting point as a solution to an odour problem, which is where we come in. Our assessors can investigate an odour and create a custom resolution plan to rectify the issue. Simply contact us today to discuss next steps.

Odour Sources

Defining the origin of an odour, as well as recognising common odour sources, and utilising methods for assessing the concentration and emission rates from the source, are all important aspects of defining the problems presented by odours.

The ability to recognise and differentiate between potential sources is important to determine the sources of the odour problem and the relative effectiveness of mitigation measures.

Odour sources vary greatly in concentration, hedonic tone and quality, even for the same source types.

Source Types

Odour sources and their impacts are characterised by their sensory properties; i.e., threshold, discrimination, intensity, hedonic tone and quality; as well as their origin, i.e. the type of emission.

Almost all of these properties can be quantified or objectively assessed, but in the context of environmental management and impact assessments, odour concentration is the most commonly used parameter.

Odour Management Plans and Site Assessments

At Ultra Protect we can provide Odour Management Plans (OMPs) to omanage and mitigate the impact of odours escaping or permeating your premises. Additionally we also provide Odour Site Assessments to support planning applications.

What we can do to Help

✓ Carry out a full site Odour Assessment.

✓ Attend site to give advice & solutions.

✓ Supply, install and commission all equipment bespoke to your premises.

✓ Provide service packages to maintain the life expectancy and performance of your air movement solutions.

✓ Help YOU provide a Cleaner, Healthier and more Productive Workplace.

✓ Training include system control options and use.
Odour & Air Quality Solutions

✓ Air Purification with UV-C to kill pathogens and recirculate clean air.

✓ Sanitiser & Decontamination UV-C units to clean rooms within minutes for immediate re-use.

✓ Site entry control products for Pathogen control.

✓ Stand alone or full building ventilation systems.

✓ Workplace Dust control – from the air, from the surface or from source – we have products for all issues.

✓ Dust suppression systems for building site control.

Odour Assessment FAQs

Is There Odour Management Legislation?

Regulations for internal air quality and odour management are covered by a variety of legislation, including;

Environment Protection Act 1990
The Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
Occupiers Liability Act 1984

Do I Still Need An Odour Assessment If Complaints Stop?

There are several reasons odour complaints may stop even if the odour is still present. These include complaint fatigue or an expectation nothing can be done to resolve the issue. Furthermore, humans have a surprisingly high tolerance to odour, so you’ll probably stop noticing a new smell quickly.

What Other Air Quality Management Services Do You Offer?

Ultra provide a range of internal air quality management solutions. These include air quality assessments, dust risk assessments, and a range of products such as air filters, air purifiers, and dust blockers.

Downloadable

Useful Resources

Guidance on the assessment of odour for planning

This document provides guidance is for assessing odour impacts for planning

purposes.

Download the report

Guidance for

measuring and categorising odours.

Environment Agency report on of the way people perceive odour, and the thresholds at which odours can be detected. It also looks at how odour annoyance occurs

Download the report