Space smells funny: Discovery crew |
WASHINGTON: The space shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven have safely returned to Earth. But the one thing pilots can't get out their noses is space's "weird" smell. "One thing I've heard people say before, but it wasn't so obvious, was the smell right when you open up that hatch," Live Science quoted Discovery pilot Dominic Antonelli, as saying after a March 21 spacewalk. "Space definitely has a smell that's different than anything else," Antonelli added. Koichi Wakata, part of Discovery crew claimed he too could smell the odd odor that wafted in from outside ISS. According to ex-NASA astronaut Thomas Jones, a veteran of three spacewalks, the odor could stem from atomic oxygen that clings to spacesuit fabric. Jones added the smell is similar to burnt gunpowder. |
Monday, March 30, 2009
Space smells funny: Discovery crew
Monday, March 23, 2009
Chicken farm odour ruffling some feathers
A POULTRY farm at Silverdale has sparked outrage among some residents in the area.
Neil Lindemann who lives about 700 metres from the poultry farm on Prenzler Road, is disgusted with the smell coming from the farm.
“It's the foulest odour you could ever imagine. It just makes you sick every time you breathe it in,” Mr Lindemann said.
Despite several talks with the farm's owner since he began operating the farm almost five weeks ago, Mr Lindemann said it appeared little was getting done.
“The smell went away for a little bit but now the fans on the northern side must get switched on at night because I wake up to the smell,” he said.
“It's just absolutely disgusting and even my family won't come and stay here anymore because they can't stand the smell either.”
Scenic Rim Councillor Heather Wehl said she was aware of the issue and doing everything in her power to stop it.
“Complaints like this can be time-consuming to investigate as we have to follow the correct processes, which can sometimes involve a number of different departments,” Cr Wehl said.
“Council takes the issue of compliance very seriously and any business operating outside of its stipulated conditions will be subject to a full council investigation and may result in prosecution.”
The Queensland Times made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the poultry farm's owner yesterday.
'It's just absolutely disgusting and even my family won't come and stay here anymore because they can't stand the smell either.'
- Neil Lindemann
Neil Lindemann who lives about 700 metres from the poultry farm on Prenzler Road, is disgusted with the smell coming from the farm.
“It's the foulest odour you could ever imagine. It just makes you sick every time you breathe it in,” Mr Lindemann said.
Despite several talks with the farm's owner since he began operating the farm almost five weeks ago, Mr Lindemann said it appeared little was getting done.
“The smell went away for a little bit but now the fans on the northern side must get switched on at night because I wake up to the smell,” he said.
“It's just absolutely disgusting and even my family won't come and stay here anymore because they can't stand the smell either.”
Scenic Rim Councillor Heather Wehl said she was aware of the issue and doing everything in her power to stop it.
“Complaints like this can be time-consuming to investigate as we have to follow the correct processes, which can sometimes involve a number of different departments,” Cr Wehl said.
“Council takes the issue of compliance very seriously and any business operating outside of its stipulated conditions will be subject to a full council investigation and may result in prosecution.”
The Queensland Times made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the poultry farm's owner yesterday.
'It's just absolutely disgusting and even my family won't come and stay here anymore because they can't stand the smell either.'
- Neil Lindemann
Irving Oil apologizes for odour to neighbours of Saint John refinery
Irving Oil Ltd. is dispatching thousands of letters to people living near its Saint John refinery explaining why they might smell an unusual odour and what the company is doing to correct it.
Jennifer Parker, a company spokeswoman, said there was a problem with one of the oil storage tanks and oil got onto the rooftop.
"We did have a situation on Wednesday where some of that product ended up on top of the floating roofs, and as a result, there has been an odour present around the refinery," Parker said.
"And due to wind direction, some of that odour was present in the Champlain Heights area over the last few days."
Parker said the tank will be drained by Monday so that repairs can be done, if necessary. Until then, the company is applying foam on top of the oil to minimize the smell.
The company official said it was necessary to inform area residents as quickly as possible about the odour to allay any potential fears.
"Whenever we have an issue like this that we know may cause them any concern or inconvenience," she said, "we do send a letter to several thousand neighbours in the Champlain Heights area or neighbourhoods around the refinery.
"We did take that step [Thursday] morning and let neighbours know what was happening and what we were doing about it in the short term and obviously apologizing for any concern or any inconvenience that it might have been causing them."
Jennifer Parker, a company spokeswoman, said there was a problem with one of the oil storage tanks and oil got onto the rooftop.
"We did have a situation on Wednesday where some of that product ended up on top of the floating roofs, and as a result, there has been an odour present around the refinery," Parker said.
"And due to wind direction, some of that odour was present in the Champlain Heights area over the last few days."
Parker said the tank will be drained by Monday so that repairs can be done, if necessary. Until then, the company is applying foam on top of the oil to minimize the smell.
The company official said it was necessary to inform area residents as quickly as possible about the odour to allay any potential fears.
"Whenever we have an issue like this that we know may cause them any concern or inconvenience," she said, "we do send a letter to several thousand neighbours in the Champlain Heights area or neighbourhoods around the refinery.
"We did take that step [Thursday] morning and let neighbours know what was happening and what we were doing about it in the short term and obviously apologizing for any concern or any inconvenience that it might have been causing them."
Burwood Beach WWTW Odour Control Upgrade
Burwood Beach Wastewater Treatment Works treats wastewater from the Newcastle City area and suburbs to Dudley in the south, Wallsend in the west and Mayfield in the north.
Odour Control Upgrade – A new odour control system will be provided to treat odours from the screenings building and primary pump station. These two locations generate 95% of odours from the site. Odours air will be ducted to a new biofilter unit for treatment. An REF for the project has been completed. Construction is expected to commence in January 2009.
Odour Control Upgrade – A new odour control system will be provided to treat odours from the screenings building and primary pump station. These two locations generate 95% of odours from the site. Odours air will be ducted to a new biofilter unit for treatment. An REF for the project has been completed. Construction is expected to commence in January 2009.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
HYDROGEN SULPHIDE
CHARCTERISTICS
Hydrogen Sulphide gas can be extremely dangerous in your workplace. In order to protect yourself you will need to be thoroughly familiar with characteristics of H2S listed below.
COLOURLESS
Hydrogen Sulphide is a colorless gas so it is not visibly detected.
ROTTEN EGG SMELL
At low concentrations H2s has a distinct rotten egg odour. At higher dangerous concentrations, the gas is odourless because it deadens the sense of smell. Therefore, don’t count on the rotten egg smell to warn you of its presence.
HAVER THAN AIR
Since H2S is slightly heavier air it can accumulate in low lying and confined areas. Be especially aware that ditches, tanks and other confined spaces can collect the gas.
CORROSIVE
H2S is very corrosive to certain metals. For this reason pipe values and other equipment should be properly maintained when H2S is present.
FLAMMABLE
Hydrogen Sulphide ignites at the relatively low temperature of 360C to produce sulphur dioxide, anther toxic gas.
WATER SOLUBLE
Hydrogen Sulphide is water soluble. Any water contaminated with the gas is a potential hazard.
TOXIC
Above all, the one characteristic of H2S that makes it so dangerous is its extreme toxicity. H2s can kill within minutes.
EFFECTS
Hydrogen Sulphide is absorbed into the body through inhalation and the effect it can have depends on both the concentration of the air is measured in parts-per-million or P.P.M.
At concentrations around 20ppm the presence of H2S is likely to cause eye irritation and is easily recognized by its rotten egg odour. However...
When concentrations reach 100 to 150ppm the sense of smell is deadened and eye and throat irritation occurs in minutes.
Other complications such as headaches and nausea can also result.
When levels reach 300ppm, loss of consciousness can occur within 30 minutes, and at 500ppm to 1000ppm respiratory arrest occurs followed by unconsciousness and death.
Please be carefully wherever in the plant
Hydrogen Sulphide gas can be extremely dangerous in your workplace. In order to protect yourself you will need to be thoroughly familiar with characteristics of H2S listed below.
COLOURLESS
Hydrogen Sulphide is a colorless gas so it is not visibly detected.
ROTTEN EGG SMELL
At low concentrations H2s has a distinct rotten egg odour. At higher dangerous concentrations, the gas is odourless because it deadens the sense of smell. Therefore, don’t count on the rotten egg smell to warn you of its presence.
HAVER THAN AIR
Since H2S is slightly heavier air it can accumulate in low lying and confined areas. Be especially aware that ditches, tanks and other confined spaces can collect the gas.
CORROSIVE
H2S is very corrosive to certain metals. For this reason pipe values and other equipment should be properly maintained when H2S is present.
FLAMMABLE
Hydrogen Sulphide ignites at the relatively low temperature of 360C to produce sulphur dioxide, anther toxic gas.
WATER SOLUBLE
Hydrogen Sulphide is water soluble. Any water contaminated with the gas is a potential hazard.
TOXIC
Above all, the one characteristic of H2S that makes it so dangerous is its extreme toxicity. H2s can kill within minutes.
EFFECTS
Hydrogen Sulphide is absorbed into the body through inhalation and the effect it can have depends on both the concentration of the air is measured in parts-per-million or P.P.M.
At concentrations around 20ppm the presence of H2S is likely to cause eye irritation and is easily recognized by its rotten egg odour. However...
When concentrations reach 100 to 150ppm the sense of smell is deadened and eye and throat irritation occurs in minutes.
Other complications such as headaches and nausea can also result.
When levels reach 300ppm, loss of consciousness can occur within 30 minutes, and at 500ppm to 1000ppm respiratory arrest occurs followed by unconsciousness and death.
Please be carefully wherever in the plant
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Electronic 'nose' could shed light on sense of smell
Korean researchers have combined human smell receptors with nanotechnology to create a new kind of 'bio-electronic nose' that they hope will help improve understanding of the human sense of smell.
Tai Hyun Park and Jyongsik Jang from Seoul National University combined their research groups' expertise in biotechnology and conducting polymer devices, mounting human olfactory receptor (hOR) proteins on conducting polymer nanotubes. They then attached these nanotubes to a microelectrode array to create a field-effect transistor, which then allows changes in the electrical signal that occur when odour molecules bind to the receptor proteins to be detected.
Human smell receptors are attached to a conducting polymer nanotube which a laid over two electrodes
© Angewandte Chemie
Park says the system can detect smells very well. 'The proteins have amine groups on the surface and the conducting polymers are functionalised with carboxylic acids, so we can covalently link the protein to the nanotube with a peptide bond,' he explains. 'This covalent attachment means that when the target molecule binds to the receptor, the signal is very effectively transferred to the nanotube.'
The receptor used in this device is known to be particularly good at binding amyl butyrate, an ester with an aroma of pineapple or apricot that is used as a food additive. The team found that they could easily detect extremely low (femtomolar) concentrations of amyl butyrate, but that related esters (butyl- and hexyl butyrates) that differ from the target compound by a single carbon atom each, produced no response at concentrations 10 billion times higher.
'The sensitivity and selectivity of the device is very good,' Park comments, 'which indicates that the protein is still functioning correctly and is not badly affected by being attached to the nanotube. We don't yet know what affect the binding has on the conformation of the protein, but we can see that it still works!'
While the device has obvious applications in detecting specific molecules, Park explains that they want to use it to better understand how the human sense of smell works: 'Around 370 to 380 different olfactory receptors exist, but many of them are not selective for single compounds and we don't know what the targets of some of them are. We want to clone lots of different receptors and put them in devices like this, and then make devices with combinations of different receptors on, to try and detect more complex odours and understand how we distinguish them.'
Jasmina Vidic, from the National Institute of Agricultural Research in Jouy-en-Josas, France, works on bio-electronic nose devices involving receptor proteins maintained within cell-membrane-like lipid bilayers. 'This is the first time I have seen conducting polymers used to immobilise [olfactory] receptors,' comments Vidic, 'and because they are covalently attached by amide bonds they are very stable. The fact that they can selectively detect the target ligand means that the receptors are probably still in good shape [after being attached to the device], which is very promising.'
Phillip Broadwith
Interesting? Spread the word using the 'tools' menu on the left.
Tai Hyun Park and Jyongsik Jang from Seoul National University combined their research groups' expertise in biotechnology and conducting polymer devices, mounting human olfactory receptor (hOR) proteins on conducting polymer nanotubes. They then attached these nanotubes to a microelectrode array to create a field-effect transistor, which then allows changes in the electrical signal that occur when odour molecules bind to the receptor proteins to be detected.
Human smell receptors are attached to a conducting polymer nanotube which a laid over two electrodes
© Angewandte Chemie
Park says the system can detect smells very well. 'The proteins have amine groups on the surface and the conducting polymers are functionalised with carboxylic acids, so we can covalently link the protein to the nanotube with a peptide bond,' he explains. 'This covalent attachment means that when the target molecule binds to the receptor, the signal is very effectively transferred to the nanotube.'
The receptor used in this device is known to be particularly good at binding amyl butyrate, an ester with an aroma of pineapple or apricot that is used as a food additive. The team found that they could easily detect extremely low (femtomolar) concentrations of amyl butyrate, but that related esters (butyl- and hexyl butyrates) that differ from the target compound by a single carbon atom each, produced no response at concentrations 10 billion times higher.
'The sensitivity and selectivity of the device is very good,' Park comments, 'which indicates that the protein is still functioning correctly and is not badly affected by being attached to the nanotube. We don't yet know what affect the binding has on the conformation of the protein, but we can see that it still works!'
While the device has obvious applications in detecting specific molecules, Park explains that they want to use it to better understand how the human sense of smell works: 'Around 370 to 380 different olfactory receptors exist, but many of them are not selective for single compounds and we don't know what the targets of some of them are. We want to clone lots of different receptors and put them in devices like this, and then make devices with combinations of different receptors on, to try and detect more complex odours and understand how we distinguish them.'
Jasmina Vidic, from the National Institute of Agricultural Research in Jouy-en-Josas, France, works on bio-electronic nose devices involving receptor proteins maintained within cell-membrane-like lipid bilayers. 'This is the first time I have seen conducting polymers used to immobilise [olfactory] receptors,' comments Vidic, 'and because they are covalently attached by amide bonds they are very stable. The fact that they can selectively detect the target ligand means that the receptors are probably still in good shape [after being attached to the device], which is very promising.'
Phillip Broadwith
Interesting? Spread the word using the 'tools' menu on the left.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Durham turns thumbs down on York sewage facility
Bowing to pressure from thousands of residents, Durham Region has changed its mind about letting York Region build a sewage odour control facility in Pickering.
In a unanimous decision today, council agreed to tell the Ministry of the Environment they want the facility built in York, well away from the proposed location at Alton Rd. and Finch Ave. E.
"The message to York is, 'Take it and move it,'" Pickering Council Bill McLean said as area residents packed the council chamber at regional headquarters.
More than 4,500 people voiced their opposition in emails and petitions arguing that the odour-control facility that will treat the stench from York Region's sewage will foul the air, lower property values and pose a potential health risk.
The project is awaiting provincial government approval but McLean said council's decision today should "carry a lot of weight" in having the environment ministry tell York to look at possible sites there.
The facility, a joint project between York and Durham, is part of the expansion of the sewage system know as The Big Pipe. It would filter and release air flow from the trunk sewer, which takes raw sewage from York to the treatment plant in south Pickering.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
odotech is anotec (odour control technology)
abatement able accurate adequate advanced air ambient
analysis applications approaches area assess
atmospheric attempt available best caused
characterization check chemical christophe combined company compliance composters compounds contact contains contaminant conventional crucial de definite designed develop different dilutions
dispersion disposal dna dr ecole electronic elements eliminate emission emitted engineering estimating etc existing experience exposed extensive facility field following founded gene guy hearing history home huge human ice identify illustration impact including indeed information instruments interaction jury leader leading leading-edge level limitations liquid manufacturing market mathematical means
measurement meet method mission mix models monitoring montreal municipalities needed
nose nothing number odoriferous
odotech
odour odour-related odouriferous olfactometer
olfactometric olfactometry olfactory order organic page perceived perfectly physico-chemical plants point pollutants polytechnique possible prepared present
problem project properties provider quality quantify rate regulations regulatory released required result sake
sampling school scientific seek select sensors services several similar simulates sites smell solid solutions solving
source specific spin-off stack stage study substance
supplies surface tabulation taste techniques terms therefore thierry things today tools trained treatment usually verifying vision volatile waste water world
analysis applications approaches area assess
atmospheric attempt available best caused
characterization check chemical christophe combined company compliance composters compounds contact contains contaminant conventional crucial de definite designed develop different dilutions
dispersion disposal dna dr ecole electronic elements eliminate emission emitted engineering estimating etc existing experience exposed extensive facility field following founded gene guy hearing history home huge human ice identify illustration impact including indeed information instruments interaction jury leader leading leading-edge level limitations liquid manufacturing market mathematical means
measurement meet method mission mix models monitoring montreal municipalities needed
nose nothing number odoriferous
odotech
odour odour-related odouriferous olfactometer
olfactometric olfactometry olfactory order organic page perceived perfectly physico-chemical plants point pollutants polytechnique possible prepared present
problem project properties provider quality quantify rate regulations regulatory released required result sake
sampling school scientific seek select sensors services several similar simulates sites smell solid solutions solving
source specific spin-off stack stage study substance
supplies surface tabulation taste techniques terms therefore thierry things today tools trained treatment usually verifying vision volatile waste water world
created at TagCrowd.com
Friday, March 06, 2009
Pig-odour study 'no joke'
Des Moines - In Congress, a $1.7m budget item for pig odour research in Iowa has become a big, fat joke among Republicans who say it's an example of unnecessary spending. But the people who live cheek by jowl with hog farms in the No 1 pig-producing state aren't laughing.
They're gagging.
"You hold your breath and when it's really bad you get the taste in your mouth," said Carroll Harless, a 70-year-old retired corn-and-soybean farmer from Iowa Falls.
In Iowa, where the 20 million hogs easily outnumber the 3 million people, the rotten-egg-and-ammonia smell of hog waste often wafts into homes, landing like a punch to the chest.
"Once, we couldn't go outside for a week," said Karen Forbes, who lives near a hog feedlot outside Lorimor. "It burnt your eyes. You couldn't breathe. You had to take a deep breath and run for your garage. It was horrid."
She recalls a citywide garage sale held in the town of 420 a couple of years ago that no one attended because of the stink that day.
The proposal to spend money on how to control pig-farm smells is contained in a $410bn spending bill covering until September 2009 now making its way through Congress. Among other earmarks that have been criticised: tattoo removal for gang members in Los Angeles; Polynesian canoe rides in Hawaii; termite research in New Orleans; and the study of grape genetics in New York.
Despite the ridicule from Senator John McCain and other Republicans, Iowa and the federal government have been studying how to control hog odours for years. The latest grant continues efforts under way at the Agricultural Research Service at the US Department of Agriculture labs in Ames, Iowa.
Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa inserted the earmark and said the subject may get laughs on late night talk shows, but it's not a joke.
"While we will likely hear about it on Jay Leno or the Letterman show, where they will be yukking it up, it's a profoundly serious challenge," he said. He said the idea is to help the pork industry go about its business "in an environmentally friendly way and be good neighbors".
The federal study is looking at what hogs eat and how the stench can be reduced. Despite years of work in Iowa and elsewhere, solutions to the problem have proved elusive, though researchers have had success using ultraviolet light to remove odors and planting trees and other vegetation to suck up the smell.
Ryan Woebbeking, who has about 2 500 hogs near Gladbrook, said he and many other farmers are working to reduce the odor. He said he plans to plant some windbreaks soon to help keep the smell from drifting.
"I have a neighbour across the road and I try to be conscious of how it smells because it can portray against you and the community, too," he said.
Hog odors have been a perennial issue at the state Legislature, where lawmakers argue over the need to protect quality of life without ruining Iowa's $12bn-a-year pork industry.
They're gagging.
"You hold your breath and when it's really bad you get the taste in your mouth," said Carroll Harless, a 70-year-old retired corn-and-soybean farmer from Iowa Falls.
In Iowa, where the 20 million hogs easily outnumber the 3 million people, the rotten-egg-and-ammonia smell of hog waste often wafts into homes, landing like a punch to the chest.
"Once, we couldn't go outside for a week," said Karen Forbes, who lives near a hog feedlot outside Lorimor. "It burnt your eyes. You couldn't breathe. You had to take a deep breath and run for your garage. It was horrid."
She recalls a citywide garage sale held in the town of 420 a couple of years ago that no one attended because of the stink that day.
The proposal to spend money on how to control pig-farm smells is contained in a $410bn spending bill covering until September 2009 now making its way through Congress. Among other earmarks that have been criticised: tattoo removal for gang members in Los Angeles; Polynesian canoe rides in Hawaii; termite research in New Orleans; and the study of grape genetics in New York.
Despite the ridicule from Senator John McCain and other Republicans, Iowa and the federal government have been studying how to control hog odours for years. The latest grant continues efforts under way at the Agricultural Research Service at the US Department of Agriculture labs in Ames, Iowa.
Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa inserted the earmark and said the subject may get laughs on late night talk shows, but it's not a joke.
"While we will likely hear about it on Jay Leno or the Letterman show, where they will be yukking it up, it's a profoundly serious challenge," he said. He said the idea is to help the pork industry go about its business "in an environmentally friendly way and be good neighbors".
The federal study is looking at what hogs eat and how the stench can be reduced. Despite years of work in Iowa and elsewhere, solutions to the problem have proved elusive, though researchers have had success using ultraviolet light to remove odors and planting trees and other vegetation to suck up the smell.
Ryan Woebbeking, who has about 2 500 hogs near Gladbrook, said he and many other farmers are working to reduce the odor. He said he plans to plant some windbreaks soon to help keep the smell from drifting.
"I have a neighbour across the road and I try to be conscious of how it smells because it can portray against you and the community, too," he said.
Hog odors have been a perennial issue at the state Legislature, where lawmakers argue over the need to protect quality of life without ruining Iowa's $12bn-a-year pork industry.
Ministry strengthens odour laws
Coalition group welcomes news, remains committed to scrutinizing details of new compost plant
The Ministry of the Environment is working on stricter odour requirements for waste management facilities that will be in place by the time the city moves forward with its new compost plant.
"Odour is clearly a documented issue at compost plants," said Ian Parrott, manager of the ministry's environmental assessment and approvals branch in Toronto. "We're beefing up our requirements."
These changes will demand more from the property owner, including regularly documenting odour concerns, looking for potentials for odour and where odour can be eliminated, he said.
Janet Laird, the city's director of environmental services, said this is a positive step because it will allow any potential issues to be flagged earlier.
"We're looking forward to that," she said.
Guelph's first organics facility was shut down in 2006 because of odours and the faster-than-anticipated corrosion of the building. The Ministry of the Environment charged Guelph with odour offences, to which the city pleaded guilty and paid a $40,000 fine.
The Waste Resource Innovation Centre on Dunlop Drive houses Guelph's waste facilities, including household hazardous waste drop off and a waste transfer station.
The same site was the location of the organics facility that was shut down. The city has decided it will be the location for the new compost facility, which is slated to be fully functioning by 2011.
The ministry changes are welcome news for members of Guelph Waste Management Coalition Inc., who fear history will repeat itself when the new facility opens.
A group of concerned and affected residents formed the coalition in the wake of the problems at the first compost facility on the site.
Ken Spira, who lives on Glenholm Drive near the facility, is president of the coalition and says the group remains strong and focused on scrutinizing every detail of a new compost plant.
"I hope the tighter compost (requirements) make it uneconomical and totally unreasonable to build the compost facility at that site," he said.
While he is still concerned the odours will return and a compost plant will threaten the aquifer under the facility, Spira said he is very pleased compost plants won't qualify for the more flexible certificate.
The city has decided on the location, but has not yet made an application to the ministry for construction. It is still weighing the two bids put forward by companies to build the second compost facility. Out of 14 preliminary bids, two remain -- Maple Reinders, which built composters in Peel Region and Nova Scotia, and Integrated Municipal Services, which has a composter in Thorold, Ont.
Laird said she hopes to take a report to council about the progress of the organics facility and present the recommended bidder next month.
Parrott said the Ministry of the Environment is also launching a new waste comprehensive certificate of approval that will save owners time and money by allowing for more flexibility. Within reason, a facility could make changes without submitting applications or hiring consultants -- though environmental standards will not be lowered.
Generally speaking, only low-risk facilities meet the criteria including transfer stations and non-hazardous waste centres, Parrott said. Compost facilities do not qualify for the certificate.
At Guelph's waste facility, there are several separate operations and it is possible to apply for separate certificates.
Laird said she expects having the new waste comprehensive certificate of approval would benefit Guelph.
"It's not applicable for hazardous waste or organics, but I expect to apply for a waste comprehensive certificate of approval for the balance of the operations at the Waste Resource Innovation Centre," she said.
But Guelph's chances at obtaining that certificate could be jeopardized by its past odour charges as historical compliance with regulations is a requirement.
Parrott said the ministry will look at the compliance record for the city's entire waste management operation.
Guelph staff will participate in orientation sessions on the new certificate in March.
noreilly@guelphmercury.com
The Ministry of the Environment is working on stricter odour requirements for waste management facilities that will be in place by the time the city moves forward with its new compost plant.
"Odour is clearly a documented issue at compost plants," said Ian Parrott, manager of the ministry's environmental assessment and approvals branch in Toronto. "We're beefing up our requirements."
These changes will demand more from the property owner, including regularly documenting odour concerns, looking for potentials for odour and where odour can be eliminated, he said.
Janet Laird, the city's director of environmental services, said this is a positive step because it will allow any potential issues to be flagged earlier.
"We're looking forward to that," she said.
Guelph's first organics facility was shut down in 2006 because of odours and the faster-than-anticipated corrosion of the building. The Ministry of the Environment charged Guelph with odour offences, to which the city pleaded guilty and paid a $40,000 fine.
The Waste Resource Innovation Centre on Dunlop Drive houses Guelph's waste facilities, including household hazardous waste drop off and a waste transfer station.
The same site was the location of the organics facility that was shut down. The city has decided it will be the location for the new compost facility, which is slated to be fully functioning by 2011.
The ministry changes are welcome news for members of Guelph Waste Management Coalition Inc., who fear history will repeat itself when the new facility opens.
A group of concerned and affected residents formed the coalition in the wake of the problems at the first compost facility on the site.
Ken Spira, who lives on Glenholm Drive near the facility, is president of the coalition and says the group remains strong and focused on scrutinizing every detail of a new compost plant.
"I hope the tighter compost (requirements) make it uneconomical and totally unreasonable to build the compost facility at that site," he said.
While he is still concerned the odours will return and a compost plant will threaten the aquifer under the facility, Spira said he is very pleased compost plants won't qualify for the more flexible certificate.
The city has decided on the location, but has not yet made an application to the ministry for construction. It is still weighing the two bids put forward by companies to build the second compost facility. Out of 14 preliminary bids, two remain -- Maple Reinders, which built composters in Peel Region and Nova Scotia, and Integrated Municipal Services, which has a composter in Thorold, Ont.
Laird said she hopes to take a report to council about the progress of the organics facility and present the recommended bidder next month.
Parrott said the Ministry of the Environment is also launching a new waste comprehensive certificate of approval that will save owners time and money by allowing for more flexibility. Within reason, a facility could make changes without submitting applications or hiring consultants -- though environmental standards will not be lowered.
Generally speaking, only low-risk facilities meet the criteria including transfer stations and non-hazardous waste centres, Parrott said. Compost facilities do not qualify for the certificate.
At Guelph's waste facility, there are several separate operations and it is possible to apply for separate certificates.
Laird said she expects having the new waste comprehensive certificate of approval would benefit Guelph.
"It's not applicable for hazardous waste or organics, but I expect to apply for a waste comprehensive certificate of approval for the balance of the operations at the Waste Resource Innovation Centre," she said.
But Guelph's chances at obtaining that certificate could be jeopardized by its past odour charges as historical compliance with regulations is a requirement.
Parrott said the ministry will look at the compliance record for the city's entire waste management operation.
Guelph staff will participate in orientation sessions on the new certificate in March.
noreilly@guelphmercury.com
Europe to examine plan to extend sewage plant
THE Petitions Committee of the European Parliament has agreed to investigate Dublin City Council’s plan to extend the controversial sewage treatment plant in Ringsend.
Residents in the Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown areas have complained of foul odours from the facility ever since it opened in 2003.
The city council has repeatedly promised to rectify the odour problem and eradicate the smell before extending the plant.
In 2007, the local authority started the process of extending the controversial sewage plant at a cost of more than €50 million.
The council intends to redevelop the plant and expand capacity to deal with waste from 2.2 million and possibly up to 2.8 million people.
In March last year, An Bord Pleanála told the city council that it would have to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the grounds that the extension was "likely to have significant effects on the environment".
In a letter to the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament last year, Damien Cassidy of the Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount Environmental Group noted that the “malodour” problem at the plant had affected the local community since the facility opened.
“Incredibly, it is now proposed to extend further this sewage treatment plant,” he said. “Although the plant is stated to be working at 20 to 30 per cent over its planned capacity, more sewage has actually been pumped into it.
“We believe that because of the failures of this plant, instead of increasing the size of it there are grounds for decreasing the size of the plant. We are also in favour of each part of the city treating separately its own sewage.
“There should be no sewage plant imposing upon the people of one area all of the problems that go with the treatment of sewage, including traffic, smells and interference with local habitat and amenities,” he added.
In a recent letter, MEP Kathy Sinnott, who is the vice president of the Petitions Committee, informed Mr Cassidy that the EU had accepted his petition and would investigate the matter.
In November last year, a report commissioned by Environment Minister John Gormley found that the multi-million euro facility has been frequently working above its capacity of 1.64 million people since it opened.
The study showed the equivalent population flow of sewage to the wastewater treatment plant was underestimated by some 225,000 people.
Odour levels at the facility were 20 times higher than the standard required in an environmental impact assessment.
The consultants’ report revealed that while the population projections by planners were correct - up to 1.98 million people by 2020 - loads from commercial premises and tourists were miscalculated.
In a statement the city council confirmed that they had appointed consultants to prepare an application, including an environmental impact statement to An Bord Pleanála to extend the plant, which they hoped to submit in 2010.
“A comprehensive review of the odour control systems at the Ringsend works concluded that upgrading was required in a number of areas,” according to the statement. “This review is now complete and had led to a significant improvement in air quality in the immediate and extended areas around the plant. The number of complaints regarding odour emanating from the plant has almost ceased.”
Residents in the Ringsend, Sandymount and Irishtown areas have complained of foul odours from the facility ever since it opened in 2003.
The city council has repeatedly promised to rectify the odour problem and eradicate the smell before extending the plant.
In 2007, the local authority started the process of extending the controversial sewage plant at a cost of more than €50 million.
The council intends to redevelop the plant and expand capacity to deal with waste from 2.2 million and possibly up to 2.8 million people.
In March last year, An Bord Pleanála told the city council that it would have to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the grounds that the extension was "likely to have significant effects on the environment".
In a letter to the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament last year, Damien Cassidy of the Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount Environmental Group noted that the “malodour” problem at the plant had affected the local community since the facility opened.
“Incredibly, it is now proposed to extend further this sewage treatment plant,” he said. “Although the plant is stated to be working at 20 to 30 per cent over its planned capacity, more sewage has actually been pumped into it.
“We believe that because of the failures of this plant, instead of increasing the size of it there are grounds for decreasing the size of the plant. We are also in favour of each part of the city treating separately its own sewage.
“There should be no sewage plant imposing upon the people of one area all of the problems that go with the treatment of sewage, including traffic, smells and interference with local habitat and amenities,” he added.
In a recent letter, MEP Kathy Sinnott, who is the vice president of the Petitions Committee, informed Mr Cassidy that the EU had accepted his petition and would investigate the matter.
In November last year, a report commissioned by Environment Minister John Gormley found that the multi-million euro facility has been frequently working above its capacity of 1.64 million people since it opened.
The study showed the equivalent population flow of sewage to the wastewater treatment plant was underestimated by some 225,000 people.
Odour levels at the facility were 20 times higher than the standard required in an environmental impact assessment.
The consultants’ report revealed that while the population projections by planners were correct - up to 1.98 million people by 2020 - loads from commercial premises and tourists were miscalculated.
In a statement the city council confirmed that they had appointed consultants to prepare an application, including an environmental impact statement to An Bord Pleanála to extend the plant, which they hoped to submit in 2010.
“A comprehensive review of the odour control systems at the Ringsend works concluded that upgrading was required in a number of areas,” according to the statement. “This review is now complete and had led to a significant improvement in air quality in the immediate and extended areas around the plant. The number of complaints regarding odour emanating from the plant has almost ceased.”
Monday, March 02, 2009
Odor threshold value
(=aroma threshold value, =OTV, =ATV)) is a measure of odor intensity of a substance. It is defined as a minimal concentration of that substance that can be detected by human nose. Some substances can be detected when their concentration is only few miligrams per 1000 tonnes which is less than a drop in olympic swimming pool. Odor threshold value can be expressed as a concentration in water or concentration in air.
Examples of some substances with strong odor.
- (Z)-8-tetradecenal (OTV = 0.009 ppb in water),
- p-vinylguaiacol (OTV = 10 ppb)[1]
See also:
Desert ants can smell their way home
New research has suggested that desert ants input both local smells and visual cues into their navigation systems to guide them home.
Until now, researchers thought that the Desert Ant Cataglyphis fortis, which makes its home in the inhospitable salt pans of Tunisia, was a pure vision-guided insect.
But, Kathrin Steck, Bill Hansson and Markus Knaden from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, used gas chromatography to verify that desert microhabitats do have unique odour signatures that can guide the ants back to the nest.
After having identified some odours of these signatures, the researchers trained ants in field experiments to recognize these odours pointing to a hidden nest entrance.
Ants learned to associate their nest entrance with a single odour and discriminated the training odour against non-training odours. They even picked out the training odour from a four-odour blend.
The ants were less focused when faced with a blend rather than the pure scent of home, but still performed better in their search than those tested with the solvent control.
The use of environmentally derived olfactory landmarks has been shown for pigeons, while most ants rely rather on self generated pheromone trails.
However, Cataglyphis roams for over 100 meters in search for food in a habitat where high temperatures and changeable food locations make pheromone trails ineffective.
This might be the reason, why these ants better go for stable olfactory landmarks that they learn at the nest entrance.
"We are amazed to discover that while keeping track of the path integrator and learning visual landmarks, these ants can also collect information about the olfactory world," said Knaden, who hopes to investigate the interaction between visual and olfactory information in future research.
W. C. Fields - "I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it."
Odours can alter gene expression in an olfactory neuron
New research from University of California, Davis, shows why a species of tiny worm can learn to ignore an odour – information that could have implications for how human memories are formed.
Scientists have known for decades that sensory neurons – nerves in places like our fingers, ears and eyes – begin the complex task of processing sights, sounds and other stimuli before forwarding the job to the body's mainframe computer: the brain. But just how these neurons accomplish their task has not been well understood.
Now researchers at UC Davis have made a startling discovery: that in olfactory neurons, odour bypasses the normal regulatory pathways in the nucleus and instead boosts synthesis of a protein by acting on RNA, the molecular messengers that typically carry instructions from DNA in the nucleus to protein-building mechanisms in the cell.
"What is unique about this study is that it provides the first evidence that a chemical in our environment changes gene expression in its own, very specific way within a sensory organ," explained Noelle L'Etoile, the study's principal investigator and assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at UC Davis's Center for Neuroscience. "This implicates the real importance of RNA in controlling when proteins are made, and shows that the environment can actually change what RNA does."
Probing deep into the molecular pathways of a microscopic worm called C. elegans, L'Etoile and co-author Julia Kaye, a postdoctoral researcher at the centre, found that prolonged exposure to an odour boosts production of a protein that curbs the worm's response to the smell, and that this activity happens very close to the area where the smell enters the neuron. Their study appears in the 15 January issue of the journalNeuron.
The regulatory protein guiding this response is also found in an important region of memory formation in the mammalian brain, L'Etoile explained. "So this work could lead to discoveries about the role these proteins play in memory and higher order learning in humans," she said.
To study the molecular basis of smell, the researchers used a population of C. elegans with a mutation that blocks the worms' normal ability to ignore odours that are not linked to food. L'Etoile had earlier found that this mutation occurs in a region of RNA that regulates the expression, or synthesis, of a protein called PKG.
In the new study, they found that RNA in sensory neurons of the defective worms no longer binds to Pumilio proteins, regulatory molecules found in a diversity of species from yeast to humans. This led to their discovery that when normal worms are exposed to the odour of butanone with no food link, a Pumilio protein in the olfactory neuron ratchets up production of PKG, prompting the creatures to eventually lose interest in the smell. The discovery holds an additional, new twist, L'Etoile added: an exciting role reversal for Pumilio proteins, which until now have only been known to suppress protein synthesis.
(Source: University of California, Davis: Neuron: February 2009)
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Green bin waste trucked to N.Y.
Peel Region shipped 50 truckloads of unfinished compost to Cornerstone Landscaping in Barrie because its organics processing facility in Caledon had to shut down due to odours.
Green Party at a political crossroads
Diane McInnis is uncomfortable.
Ontario municipalities 'scrambling' to cope with surge in kitchen refuse and plant closings
Ontario facilities that compost kitchen waste are in such short supply that thousands of tonnes have been sent to the United States for incineration and at least one municipality has improperly dumped truckloads within the province.
Severe odour problems are the main reason for the closing of facilities, including Peel Region's compost-curing location in Caledon and two plants in Quebec that took thousands of tonnes from Toronto and York region.
At the same time, new facilities in Ontario can barely meet the surging demand from municipal green bin programs that recycle food waste into high-grade compost.
"If somebody goes out of business then we've got a real problem – there is no extra capacity in the system," said Durham Region's Cliff Curtis, chair of Regional Public Works Commissioners of Ontario.
"In many ways, we are victims of our own success. There have been more (organics) collected than expected, and we are scrambling."
Pushed by the Ontario government to recycle organics, municipalities collected 251,368 tonnes of kitchen scraps in green bins in 2007 – a jump of nearly 30 per cent over 2006. Those numbers will only go higher. Toronto is expanding its green bin program into apartments, increasing organic collections from about 115,000 tonnes a year to 170,000 tonnes within the next 16 months.
The green bin program has grown so fast that it has outstripped the ability of municipalities to process the organics locally, creating a new carbon footprint since the material is trucked to facilities hundreds of kilometres away.
The program collects mountains of leftover steak, hamburgers, vegetables and (depending on the municipality) diapers and pet waste, diverting them from the landfills into compost. It is the meat products that tend to cause the odours.
The vast popularity of organic recycling has placed cities in a vulnerable position. When a facility shuts down, city managers need backup plans because excess rotting food cannot be stored in warehouses.
Despite pressuring municipalities to recycle organics, the Ontario government has not created a comprehensive plan to help them do so, although ministry sources say the current review of the Waste Diversion Act will bring change. Some cities, like Toronto, have decided to get into the processing business, with long-term plans to own facilities that will provide two-thirds of the processing capacity.
"We've been shuffling since our program started in 2002," said Toronto's Geoff Rathbone, general manager of solid waste. "It has been a challenge every day to find sufficient capacity for organics ... they have to flow every day."
Among recent contingency plans:
York Region trucked 11,864 tonnes of kitchen waste to Covanta Energy, an incinerator in Niagara Falls, N.Y., between March and August 2008 when its Quebec processor was shut down.
The City of Guelph ships 10,000 tonnes of kitchen waste every year to Covanta Energy. During the mid-1990s, the city was considered a composting pioneer but closed its facility in 2006 due to odours and structural weakness caused by ammonia.
Peel Region shipped 50 truckloads of partially composted kitchen waste to Barrie topsoil company Cornerstone Landscaping in 2007. The company did not have environment ministry approval to accept "unfinished" compost, which contains inorganic material, an environment ministry spokesperson said. Mounds of the compost – including tattered plastic bags – remain on the site.
Ministry of environment spokesperson Kate Jordan said investigators responded to an odour complaint about Cornerstone in late 2007 but did not issue an order against the company because it co-operated in the cleanup. Jordan said plastic bags included in the compost defined it as "unfinished." Cornerstone and Peel are now working under the oversight of the province to remove thousands of tattered plastic bags that held the organics, Jordan said.
Cornerstone's owner, Rick Sova, said his company did not need ministry approvals to take the organics, saying the compost was already finished when it arrived on site.
"We took the material, we screened it, we processed it into a good organic medium for growing results, the Region of Peel is taking back the plastic and they're processing it," Sova said.
Larry Conrad is the acting director of waste management for Peel Region. He said Peel sent the material to Cornerstone because odour problems forced the region to close its outdoor curing facility in Caledon. He said they also believed it was a finished product. The region is seeking approvals to build a new composting facility in Caledon.
"Composting is a tough industry," Conrad said. "It is an industry that has a lot of odour problems. We operated our composting plant in Caledon for many years with no odour issues, but obviously we weren't immune to it."
Every municipality collects different items and uses a slightly different composting process, but the system generally works like this:
Bags of kitchen waste are picked up from neighbourhood curbs and taken to processing facilities, where the food is dumped into enormous vats and separated from the plastic bags and errant shampoo bottles.
It continues through the system, sometimes taking weeks, until the organics have turned into a thick, dark material with a heavy ammonia-like odour. It is then trucked to a composting facility, which turns it into the compost that is given to residents or sold in stores to be spread on gardens and lawns.
The juggling act to keep composting – and diverting from overflowing landfills – has forced cities to look further afield for their processors. Toronto, for example, had shipped roughly 1,000 truckloads of organic waste a year to Quebec. That arrangement ended last November when the Quebec environment ministry limited the company's intake due to odour problems.
In that case, Toronto quickly ramped up their contracts with two new Ontario facilities, Orgaworld, a Dutch-owned company that opened a facility near London, and Universal Resource in Welland.
The city also has plans to build two processing facilities, at the Disco Transfer Station in north Etobicoke and the Dufferin Waste Management Facility in North York.
Green Party at a political crossroads
Diane McInnis is uncomfortable.
Ontario municipalities 'scrambling' to cope with surge in kitchen refuse and plant closings
Ontario facilities that compost kitchen waste are in such short supply that thousands of tonnes have been sent to the United States for incineration and at least one municipality has improperly dumped truckloads within the province.
Severe odour problems are the main reason for the closing of facilities, including Peel Region's compost-curing location in Caledon and two plants in Quebec that took thousands of tonnes from Toronto and York region.
At the same time, new facilities in Ontario can barely meet the surging demand from municipal green bin programs that recycle food waste into high-grade compost.
"If somebody goes out of business then we've got a real problem – there is no extra capacity in the system," said Durham Region's Cliff Curtis, chair of Regional Public Works Commissioners of Ontario.
"In many ways, we are victims of our own success. There have been more (organics) collected than expected, and we are scrambling."
Pushed by the Ontario government to recycle organics, municipalities collected 251,368 tonnes of kitchen scraps in green bins in 2007 – a jump of nearly 30 per cent over 2006. Those numbers will only go higher. Toronto is expanding its green bin program into apartments, increasing organic collections from about 115,000 tonnes a year to 170,000 tonnes within the next 16 months.
The green bin program has grown so fast that it has outstripped the ability of municipalities to process the organics locally, creating a new carbon footprint since the material is trucked to facilities hundreds of kilometres away.
The program collects mountains of leftover steak, hamburgers, vegetables and (depending on the municipality) diapers and pet waste, diverting them from the landfills into compost. It is the meat products that tend to cause the odours.
The vast popularity of organic recycling has placed cities in a vulnerable position. When a facility shuts down, city managers need backup plans because excess rotting food cannot be stored in warehouses.
Despite pressuring municipalities to recycle organics, the Ontario government has not created a comprehensive plan to help them do so, although ministry sources say the current review of the Waste Diversion Act will bring change. Some cities, like Toronto, have decided to get into the processing business, with long-term plans to own facilities that will provide two-thirds of the processing capacity.
"We've been shuffling since our program started in 2002," said Toronto's Geoff Rathbone, general manager of solid waste. "It has been a challenge every day to find sufficient capacity for organics ... they have to flow every day."
Among recent contingency plans:
York Region trucked 11,864 tonnes of kitchen waste to Covanta Energy, an incinerator in Niagara Falls, N.Y., between March and August 2008 when its Quebec processor was shut down.
The City of Guelph ships 10,000 tonnes of kitchen waste every year to Covanta Energy. During the mid-1990s, the city was considered a composting pioneer but closed its facility in 2006 due to odours and structural weakness caused by ammonia.
Peel Region shipped 50 truckloads of partially composted kitchen waste to Barrie topsoil company Cornerstone Landscaping in 2007. The company did not have environment ministry approval to accept "unfinished" compost, which contains inorganic material, an environment ministry spokesperson said. Mounds of the compost – including tattered plastic bags – remain on the site.
Ministry of environment spokesperson Kate Jordan said investigators responded to an odour complaint about Cornerstone in late 2007 but did not issue an order against the company because it co-operated in the cleanup. Jordan said plastic bags included in the compost defined it as "unfinished." Cornerstone and Peel are now working under the oversight of the province to remove thousands of tattered plastic bags that held the organics, Jordan said.
Cornerstone's owner, Rick Sova, said his company did not need ministry approvals to take the organics, saying the compost was already finished when it arrived on site.
"We took the material, we screened it, we processed it into a good organic medium for growing results, the Region of Peel is taking back the plastic and they're processing it," Sova said.
Larry Conrad is the acting director of waste management for Peel Region. He said Peel sent the material to Cornerstone because odour problems forced the region to close its outdoor curing facility in Caledon. He said they also believed it was a finished product. The region is seeking approvals to build a new composting facility in Caledon.
"Composting is a tough industry," Conrad said. "It is an industry that has a lot of odour problems. We operated our composting plant in Caledon for many years with no odour issues, but obviously we weren't immune to it."
Every municipality collects different items and uses a slightly different composting process, but the system generally works like this:
Bags of kitchen waste are picked up from neighbourhood curbs and taken to processing facilities, where the food is dumped into enormous vats and separated from the plastic bags and errant shampoo bottles.
It continues through the system, sometimes taking weeks, until the organics have turned into a thick, dark material with a heavy ammonia-like odour. It is then trucked to a composting facility, which turns it into the compost that is given to residents or sold in stores to be spread on gardens and lawns.
The juggling act to keep composting – and diverting from overflowing landfills – has forced cities to look further afield for their processors. Toronto, for example, had shipped roughly 1,000 truckloads of organic waste a year to Quebec. That arrangement ended last November when the Quebec environment ministry limited the company's intake due to odour problems.
In that case, Toronto quickly ramped up their contracts with two new Ontario facilities, Orgaworld, a Dutch-owned company that opened a facility near London, and Universal Resource in Welland.
The city also has plans to build two processing facilities, at the Disco Transfer Station in north Etobicoke and the Dufferin Waste Management Facility in North York.
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