Assessing Odour Impacts From Diverse Sources
Abstract
Using risk techniques to determine the acceptability or otherwise of the potential of odours from plant and processes, especially those with diverse and diffuse sources, has been shown to be extremely effective. This is a new tool that is efficient, effective and provides considerable flexibility in the use of the outputs. Recognising that these plants and processes typically operate in a satisfactory manner, with odours being released at times of upset and/or equipment failure means that traditional tools have limited effectiveness. However, using a risk based approach as a means of assessing the impact of unacceptable odour levels incorporates this variability in plant performance and also enables the issues of public perception and public acceptance to be included in the analysis. Furthermore, it allows the design to be optimised, a feature that is not readily available in the traditional techniques.