Industrial Estate Odour Investigation

The Rutherford Industrial Estate (RIE) has been the focus of odour complaints for a number of years. Since 2008, the NSW EPA has received over 700 complaints from the residential areas of Rutherford, Aberglasslyn, Farley, Windella, Telarah, and as far as Thornton and Nulkaba. In response to the complaints the Rutherford Air Quality Liaison Committee’s (the Committee) was established; its key role to provide advice on odour from a community and industrial perspective.

Natalie Shaw (Principal Consultant) managed the project and commented that,
“by analysing over 700 complaints we were able to identify key problem industries even before undertaking the modelling. A comprehensive review of complaints data is rarely done properly but can provide great insight into the problem if done well, and it also doesn’t cost much to do!”

The RIE odour impact assessment system developed by Katestone provided the Committee with a valuable tool that:

• Identified whether odour criterion were exceeded at nearby sensitive receptors
• Ranked all odour emission source within each facility
• Ranked all industries in order of priority for action
• Determined the degree of emission reduction required to meet the odour criterion

Katestone presented the outcomes of the odour investigation to the Committee and provided recommendations for an odour character calibration assessment to be conducted involving community members. The outcomes were well received by the Committee and allowed them to better understand the potential causes of odour from within the RIE and how these sources impacted on the community.

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