Don't Let Odor Issues Kill Your Project

For both public and private project developers the two biggest project killers are odor and traffic.  Both can be managed to meet the concerns of host communities and abutters.  In today’s blog I will share my newly acquired knowledge of the culture and science of odor management. 

I am learning from the best:  Yann Contratto, President of OlfactoExpert, Inc. and an international expert on odor management; Francois Perron , owner of Bioservice.ca who has developed environmentally safe odor neutralizing products which have successfully mitigated odors and associated complaints at operations both large and small; and the owners, operators, and host communities of facilities that generate odors.

Not only are tolerance levels with respect to odors changing, but there is a market for more facilities that generate odor in their processes.  These include anaerobic digesters and other energy from waste operations where commercial and residential organic waste is processed through digesters to produce methane gas for energy and sludge for compost and fertilizer. 

Odor management solutions are no longer an afterthought.  Odor management needs to be part of the early planning and initial public discussion process.  Success in securing local approvals and maintaining long term good relations with host communities and neighbors require a comprehensive odor management program that is well executed. 

Preliminary odor audits assess potential odor sources for a proposed facility at a specific site to support a management plan to reduce or eliminate the release of odors into the surrounding community.  Keep in mind that odor is deemed a problem only when it migrates outside the operation’s fence line.

Preliminary odor audits result in a realistic odor dispersion model and identity cost effective odor controls, including design and operational solutions.  Preliminary odor audits assure residents, local officials, and regulators that you are serious about your commitment to odor management and mitigation.

I would love to introduce you to my odor expert colleagues Yann and Francois.  If you are a project owner, consulting engineer, or a host community with a new project or an established facility with odor management challenges call me at 413 313 6901 or email at mary@marylouisemonahan.com.  Together we can overcome this project killer.