Air Pollution by Odour — Sources, Identification and Control

Although odour pollution of air is not directly harmful to the health of man, it can affect mental attitudes and enjoyment of the environment. The present article reviews the sources of odours in gases and vapours, their effects, methods for their sensory and instrumental detection, their characterisation, threshold values and maximum limits. Industrial sources for offensive odours, such as meat, fish and other food processing plants, leather tanneries, sewage and domestic refuse processing plants, oil refineries, paper pulp, paint and plastic manufacturers, are outlined. Physical, chemical and biological methods for odour control are discussed and criteria for selection of a control method, depending upon available conditions and possibilities, are listed.