5 myths about odours

"It's just a natural smell." "You can't tell where it's coming from." "Odours can't be measured anyway."

In odour management we still hear these statements all the time. But what may have seemed like an acceptable argument a few decades ago no longer holds up in today's technological and regulatory environment.

Odour can be measured, investigated, and its source can be identified. This is an increasingly important issue for agricultural and food industry operators, as odour complaints from residents can lead not only to nuisance but also to official proceedings and penalties.

Let's look at the most common myths and the reality behind them!

Myth 1: "It doesn't stink, it's just a natural smell."

The manager of a pig farm may easily think that the smell associated with livestock keeping or manure handling "doesn't stink", since for them it is an everyday, familiar part of life.

There is indeed no dispute that these odours arise from natural biological and decomposition processes. "Natural", however, does not mean free of nuisance.

How disturbing an odour is does not depend solely on the odorous substance itself. Intensity, duration and frequency all matter, as do individual sensitivity and the emotional associations attached to it.

Moreover, persistent unpleasant odour exposure is not simply an "annoyance". The scientific literature also studies nuisance odours as a source of stress, which in some people can be associated with headaches, nausea, malaise or other complaints.

Myth 2: "That's not a stench, that's the smell of the countryside. Anyone who moves here knows what to expect."

This is one of the most frequently heard arguments when people living near an agricultural site raise odour complaints.

The problem is that two people can perceive and judge the same odour in completely different ways.

For a livestock professional, the smells of the farm may be linked to work, a familiar environment and even positive experiences. For a local resident, the same smell may be unfamiliar, intense and unsettling.

Especially if they don't know what is causing it. That is when the questions arise:

"What is this smell?"
"Where is it coming from?"
"Is it normal for it to be this strong?"
"Could it pose a health risk?"

That is why handling odour complaints is not purely a technological matter. It is also a matter of communication and trust.

If a plant or livestock farm can show that it knows its own odour emissions and measures and controls them, that alone can go a long way towards preventing conflicts with local residents.

Myth 3: "Nobody can tell where the smell is coming from."

In the past it was indeed much harder to pinpoint the exact source of a complex odour burden. With advances in technology, however, far more tools are available today.

For a process that runs regularly or continuously, potential odour sources can be located through investigations, measurements and analysis of how the process operates.

This is particularly important at sites with several potential emission points, such as livestock buildings, manure storage, wastewater treatment points, process equipment or various raw material stores.

Occasional emissions can of course be more challenging, but if the activity recurs regularly, identifying the source can hardly be called impossible.

Myth 4: "Odours can't be measured."

Odour can indeed be measured.

A standardised method for testing odours is available in Europe. Using dynamic olfactometry according to MSZ EN 13725, the odour concentration can be determined.

The result of the measurement is the odour concentration, expressed in European odour units per cubic metre, i.e. OU/m³.

The essence of the method is to determine, under controlled conditions, at what dilution the odour present in the air sample can be detected.

This means that today it is no longer just a matter of saying "This really stinks"; instrumental, standardised testing can quantify how high the odour concentration is.

The concentration measured at the odour source can of course be much higher than what is perceived in the surroundings. As it disperses, the emitted air mixes with the ambient air and is diluted, so the concentration decreases with distance from the source.

Myth 5: "Even if there's an odour complaint, it will never become an official case."

Today an odour complaint does not necessarily stay a complaint voiced at a residents' forum.

The environmental authority may also order an odour concentration test, in which the use of the standard measurement method may be a requirement.

Hungarian regulations also set requirements for air affected by malodour. In the case of intensive livestock farming, for example, residents may not be exposed to an odour load exceeding the level laid down by law.

As technology and measurement methods advance, it is becoming ever more precisely possible to determine what is released into the environment, from where, in what concentration and under what conditions.

The best answer to odour complaints: preparation

In agriculture and the food industry, a certain level of odour emission naturally follows from the process. The question is therefore not necessarily whether odour is produced, but whether we are able to control the emission.

The best strategy is not for a plant to start dealing with odour management only when resident complaints are already pouring in.

Prevention is far more effective:

• mapping potential odour sources,

• measuring odour emissions where necessary,

• identifying problematic process points,

• and applying suitable odour reduction technology.

Odour management is no longer an intangible problem. It is a field that can be measured, investigated and managed.

This is where Telepszagtalanítás technology helps, offering a proven solution for the cost-effective reduction of nuisance odours generated in agriculture and the food industry.

The practical results of the technology are confirmed by the cases of several leading Hungarian industry players.

So the question is no longer whether anything can be done about malodour. It is when we start doing something about it.