Measurements in the receiving environment
Measuring odors

Measurements in the receiving environment, i.e. in neighboring communities, should be considered in two main situations:

• local residents feel bothered by emissions from an industrial site. In such cases, measures are needed to describe the situation objectively and seek solutions;

• the authorities request an estimate of the environmental impact of a manufacturer's activity (for example, in the case of a request for authorization to extend a site).

Both situations require an assessment of the impact of atmospheric emissions, in terms of odours and nuisances. Although olfactory discomfort is necessarily a consequence of the presence of odors, "nuisance" and "odors" correspond to two different notions. Thus, an odor usually considered pleasant (for example, a minty smell) will...