CERC — Environmental Software and Services

Odours

Odour image

The assessment of odour impacts due to industrial and agricultural processes is frequently required for planning and permitting.

It is essential to establish a clear link between plant operation, emissions and the resulting odour impact.  We provide this link by carrying out dispersion modelling using ADMS.

Modelling may be required to determine the impact of odour on a proposed development, to quantify the effect of a new facility or to investigate the effectiveness of odour control strategies. 

We recognise the importance of representing odorous emissions as robustly as possible, whether using sector-specific emission rates or the results of olfactometry. We also have experience of related issues, such as bioaerosols.

Commonly accepted odour modelling practice involves the calculation of the 98th percentile of hourly average odour concentrations at sensitive receptors. Model outputs are presented for straightforward comparison against thresholds, with concentration maps showing how impacts vary across the surrounding area.

In order to assess the significance of modelled odour impacts, we refer to regulatory and Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) guidance, which sets out odour assessment criteria depending receptor sensitivity.



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