Odour
| Odours (or smells) can be pleasant or unpleasant. The EPA (Environmental Protection Authority) regulates odours as odours are a kind of pollution, they therefore require managing and can be harmful to our health and the environment. Offensive odour interfere with people’s normal enjoyment or use of the environment. It can cause people to feel revolted, disgusted, upset, dizzy, nauseous, or annoyed. Odours usually come from:
|  |
While odour is subjective and varies in its perception from person-to-person, exposure to odours over a long period of time can impact peoples mood, anxiety and stress levels. The EPA Publication 1883 June 2022 Provides a legislative framework for undertaking an assessment for both new developments as well as existing industry and neighbourhood amenity issued.
Contact Us Today
The EPA sets out three levels of assessment:
| Gateway Assessments:
|
|
| Level 2 assessment consists of two tools, cumulative effects test and the source-pathway receiving environment tool. a. The cumulative effects test takes into consideration the effects of multiple odour sources where there is different dispersed industry, different clustered industries and clusters of similar industries. b. The source-pathway-receiving environment tool gives guidance on determining the level of hazard posed by the odour source, the effectiveness of the exposure pathway and the sensitivity of the receiving environment. It enables the calculation of a risk score. Depending on this score and the quality of the evidence used, further steps in the risk assessment can be identified. |
Level 3 assessment provides detailed risk assessment tools for issues that are complex or where the other levels of assessment have been exhausted because there is not enough evidence to establish what the odour risk is. The value of a risk assessment is enhanced if there are multiple, independent lines of evidence that support each other.
| Tools for use include:
|
|
We understand that every project is uniquely different for each client, as such we strive to provide a professional service with special attention to delivering a tailored, personal service to each of our valued clients.
RECENT PROJECT
| ODOUR MANGEMENT PLAN BRIEF Waveform Acoustic was engaged to conduct an air quality risk assessment for a proposed development in Geelong, focusing primarily on evaluating the risk of odour emanating from the commercial food processing activities. SOLUTION We assessed the odour risk through the following steps:
RESULT Our assessment adhered to EPA Victoria guidelines. We provided key recommendations for ongoing odour management, and our findings have been submitted to the Council as a key component of the site permit application. |  |