Odors

Odors are a natural part of the substances handled and treated at any wastewater treatment plant. They are contained to the wastewater treatment plant site, but there are times that odors drift from the plant site depending on the weather conditions and direction of the wind. Sewage Treatment Plants located near residential areas are prone or susceptible to legal problems especially when they emit foul, or in worse cases, hazardous, odor.

 

Treatment operations are designed to reduce the amount of odors present. But there are certain weather conditions and equipment maintenance where it may lessen the effectiveness of these routines for odor control operations.

 

The substances responsible for the diffusion of odors into the atmosphere in the vicinity of a structure are mostly gaseous inorganic products, which are the main result of the biological activities in the sewage or substances w/ high organic compounds, which are often caused by the presence of industrial wastes. Some of the compounds that come with bad odors are mercaptans, skatoles, indoles, inorganic acids, aldehydes, ketones and organic compounds containing nitrogen or sulfur atoms.

 

They can originate from the anaerobic decomposition of compounds with a high molecular weight, especially in proteins. These are recognized as being among the causes of bad-smelling odors at the outlet of sewer lines and in treatment plants in general. Just because something doesn’t smell bad does not mean it isn’t harmful. Some harmful and deadly chemicals can have a sweet scent like benzene. And in some cases, no odors at all like carbon monoxide. In other cases, an odor may be mistaken to be an odor of another substance.

 

An example is Hydrogen Sulfide, which resembles the smell of a rotten egg. People may not be aware that what they have smelled is already dangerous. Getting sick from chemical odors will depend on what chemicals you have been exposed to, how much, how long, and how often you were exposed.

 

Odors are a primal warning system. Being exposed to chemical odors from substances such as ammonia and chlorine can be of serious or even deadly health impacts, which of course depends on the concentration and diffusion of the chemical. Odors can cause a variety of health symptoms which can affect our body systems especially an individual’s respiratory.