Odour Assessment

Whether you are proposing to develop residential use close to an existing odour source, or need to provide an Odour Management Plan (OMP) to accompany your environmental permit application, Air Quality Assessments Ltd provides a comprehensive service relating to odour investigation and assessment.  Odour emissions can have an adverse impact on the amenity of sensitive receptors, resulting in complaints and enforcement action from the regulating authorities.  An odour assessment can help identify whether there is a risk of odour annoyance.

Odour assessments for planning are undertaken using the methodology outlined in Guidance on the Assessment of Odour for Planning (IAQM, 2014).  This approach uses predictive and/or observational methods to determine the magnitude of any adverse effects on amenity due to odour. Air Quality Assessments Ltd use some, or all of the following tools to undertake an odour assessment for planning:

• risk based assessment using the source-pathway-receptor concept;
• atmospheric dispersion modelling (we use ADMS 5);
• sniff tests; and
• complaints analysis.

Where odour from a commercial kitchen may be an issue, a risk assessment can be undertaken following the procedure in Guidance on the Control of Odour and Noise from Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems (Defra, 2005). This approach considers the location, scale and nature of the commercial kitchen, the location and operating parameters of the extraction system, and the sensitivity of the local area to determine the risk of odour effects.

Air Quality Assessments Ltd can also provide an odour management plan (OMP) outlining how odour will be managed at your site.  A development that requires an environmental permit and is likely to give rise to odour problems must submit an OMP for approval as part of the permitting process.  H4 Odour Management (Environment Agency, 2011) provides guidance on how to comply with your permit if your process emits odour. Odour Management Plans for Waste Handling Facilities (Environment Agency, 2011) provides further guidance on OMPs.

Other guidance on odour can be found in Odour Guidance for Local Authorities (Defra, 2010) and the Code of Practice on Odour Nuisance from Sewage Treatment Works (Defra, 2006).

Air Quality Assessments Ltd can provide an initial screening assessment, followed by a more detailed odour assessment, including modelling where necessary, and provide an OMP where odour emissions need to be controlled. Contact us to find out more about our odour assessment services.