Odour Annoyance in Industrial Zones of the River Seine Estuary

Publisher Summary Industrial activities along the River Seine estuary, between Petitville and Le Havre, are potential sources of odorous pollution. Therefore, an investigation was undertaken of emitted odors likely to cause annoyance to living populations. Fifteen municipalities were involved in the investigation, in which odor annoyance experienced by living populations was assessed, and the environment was characterized by olfactometry. The population sample constituting the panel consisted of local volunteers, grouped by geographical sector, depending on their place of residence. Volunteers were asked to leave their homes at set times on given days to assess air quality, and to complete a questionnaire on a response card. Volunteers were free to make additional comments on the back of the card. The responses were used to calculate an odor annoyance index for a given sector, at set times on given days. The investigation lasted one year, with two weekly assessments, to cover different meteorological conditions and industrial operations. Compared with a survey of complaints or on-the-spot questioning, this approach has several advantages—the participants all work with a precise response scale to indicate the degree of annoyance experienced, and the annoyance recorded is based only on the participant's immediate experience and does not involve recall of past incidents of questionable objectivity.