UNI EN 16841-1 standard: "Ambient air - Determination of odor in ambient air through field survey - Part 1: Grid method", based on the German VDI standard 3940 part 1, and implemented in Italy in 2017, regulates Odor Field Inspection, a method of analysis of odor impact in a given territory, through an evaluation performed by selected trained examiners.
In particular, the grid method, described in part 1 of the aforementioned standard, consists in the representation of sensitive receptors, with a regular mesh of equidistant points scattered in the survey area, among which to identify measurement paths.
A sufficiently large group of examiners, following an adequate training, gives an indication of the possible presence of odor on each point, indicating its type and intensity. The data collected during the survey, which has a duration of 6-12 months so that they may be sufficiently representative of meteorological conditions in the area, are then processed statistically.
A typical Odor Field Inspection campaign consists of the following steps:
- Inspection with definition of the survey points on the territory surrounding the plant and measurement routes;
- Selection of examiners through a test performed in the olfactometric chamber;
- Training of examiners who will perform field tests;
- Monitoring;
- Treatment and presentation of results.
LOD has developed Geonose®, a management software that consists of a portal and an application for smartphones, as well as tablets to be used directly by examiners on the spot. This software allows implementing the data related to the Field Inspection, providing a measurement of the geolocalized smell.
Geonose is the first SAAS service (Software As A Service) dedicated to detecting odors in the environment.
