Odor problems in ambient air of the wastewater treatment facilities: regulation, control and legislative regulation

Summary

A review of the current methodological approaches to the regulation and control of odorous substances in ambient air is presented. The values developed overseas on the basis of the epidemiological studies and recommended as standard odor levels in the area of wastewater treatment facilities are presented. The experimental procedure of setting permissible concentrations of odorous substances with account of odor «persistence» criterion based on the determination of the dependence of the possible odor threshold of different intensity from the substance concentrations is coherent with the international approaches to setting the air quality criteria related to the odor with account of «annoyance». As a result of the studies the regulatory values of the odor level of complex multicomponent emissions including emissions of wastewater treatment facilities that possess high «annoyance potential» have been substantiated meeting which will provide for the population protection from «obsessive» odor. In order to control ambient air pollution with odor the method of probabilistic assessment of the odor presence and intensity in the area of the facilities-odor emission sources location has been developed. It is expected that the introduction of the method of setting limits and control of odor as an element of the ambient air quality will supply the State supervision bodies with new approaches to the assessment of the ambient air condition in the communities located near the enterprises – emission sources in the process of setting the maximum permissible emissions, approving the sanitary-protection zones and developing the measures on eliminating odor impact on the population as the most important elements of odor control in the ambient air.

Key words

treatment facilities , odorous substances , odor intensity , «unknown» odor , «obsessive» odor , olfactory-odorimetric studies , organoleptic control , odor management