Several industrial activities pose an increased awareness by the general public and governmental agencies for the potential effects on air quality. The release of odours can adversely affect our environment, and remediation of odour production is impeded by the lack of instrumental approaches capable of objective odour measurements and characterization. Offensive odour associated with the decomposition of organic waste material is an example of major concern to composting plants operators since it leads to public opposition for composting plants sites. Gaseous composting plants emissions are a nuisance as well as a potential health hazard and therefore the accurate prediction and control of these emissions is integral part of composting plants design and operation. Instrumental techniques in environmental odour impact assessment, like electronic noses (Sironi et. al. 2007) and GC-MS (Davoli et. al. 2003) are generally used to partially quantify the odour, while the definitive assessment method, for odour concentration, seems to be dynamic olfactometry. Here a panel of certified experts tests the presence of "odour" to a diluted environmental air sample. The sample dilution ratio is decreased until the panelists "feel" the odour. The dilution value is the odour units of the sample. Olfactometry is described in a CEN normative (UNI-EN 13725:2004) and is being introduced in other countries.
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