Odour Impact Determination of a Communal Toilet: Field Measurement with Panellists Using Dynamic Plume Method and Dispersion Modelling

In this study, downwind odour concentrations from a communal toilet facility were measured by trained human receptors using the plume method over a 10 day period from mid-May to mid-June 2015 over an approximate downwind area of 1000 m2 (about 800 m long and 30 m). Source emission measurements and extensive meteorological data were collected along with the field odor concentration measurements. Modelling of the measurement events at specific receptor locations using the US EPA SCREEN3 model was compared to field odor measurements at the same locations. The study also showed how subjectivity in the use of the human nose in measuring odour strength could be reduced by selecting odour inspectors using the “Standard Procedure for Testing Individual Odour Sensitivity”. Also an odour dispersion model using the US EPA SCREEN3 model was built and simulated and the output of the simulated model compared with the measured data. A paired t-test, t(5) = -1.29, p = 0.902 (p > 0.05), showed that there was no statistically significant difference between simulated model output and measured data, hence the possible of using odour dispersion models improved operation of a communal toilet in relation to odour impact.