Mitigation of the Odorous Impact of a Waste Landfill Located in a Highly Urbanized Area

Abstract

The growing awareness of the impact of environmental conditions on quality of life has led to the consideration of odours as atmospheric contaminants causing “olfactory pollution”. Odorous compounds do not directly represent a risk to human health; they are rarely dangerous in nature, not necessarily toxic, and generally found at low concentrations. Nevertheless it has been recognized that exposure to odours may cause different negative effects on human beings, ranging from emotional stress to physical symptoms. Consequently, when a system characterized by high emissions of odours is located in an urban context, its acceptance by the population is affected by its olfactory impact. This paper aims to assess the impact of odorous substances emitted from a landfill on the exposed population, by presenting a specific plant management methodology to minimize exposure to odours in terms of intensity and frequency. The results, evaluated for different percentiles, show that some residential areas may be affected by “olfactory harassment” if specific waste landfill management criteria are not applied. This methodology, if applied during the landfill design phase, may be a major tool for institutional decision-makers for comparing different options when choosing landfill sites.