Thursday, May 27, 2010

Soil clean up at chemical plant causes unpleasant smell

Foul smells from the clean-up of a former agricultural chemical factory in Cambridgeshire has led to protests from residents.

The factory, established in Hauxton in the 1940s, produced pesticides and herbicides.

Chemicals contaminated the ground and South Cambridgeshire District Council must clean it up before houses can be built there.

Disturbing the chemicals has caused the smells, a spokesman said.

"As the contaminated soils are dug they can release odours that had previously been trapped underground," he said.

Local people told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and local news media saying they were not getting the answers they needed about the cause of the smells.

Work on the contaminated ground will be completed in September 2010.

The Environment Agency and South Cambridgeshire District Council have created dedicated web pages to provide information on the situation.

Residents have been told the odour is unlikely to pose a health risk.

However, a shopkeeper in the village said she was told by doctors to close down and stay away because of the "noxious fumes".

Jackie Garfitt said she was told by doctors her health had been affected.

Dozens of people living in Hauxton have made similar claims.

South Cambridgeshire District Council said the fumes are unlikely to pose a health risk.

Macarthur tip stink spurs $1m fix

MORE than $1million will be spent in the next three months to reduce odour emissions at the Macarthur Resource Recovery Park in Narellan.
WSN Environmental Solutions will work to reduce odour emissions by improving gas extraction from the landfill area.

Last month the Camden Advertiser reported that residents in Narellan Vale, Mount Annan and Narellan had noticed the smell from the park had increased in the past nine months.

A WSN spokeswoman said the company regretted that the odour performance had not met community expectations and action was being taken to urgently fix the problem.

``The project involves installing 20 additional gas wells on the landfill area and will reduce odours emanating from the site by enabling the existing system to capture significantly more gas emitted from the landfilled material,'' she said.

``Work commenced on May 24 and will continue for approximately six weeks. While every preventative effort will be made, there is potential for odour to be generated during the work.''

WSN Environmental Solutions' CEO Ken Kanofski thanked locals for their patience while the work was under way.

``We are confident that the increased gas capture will be a key component in reducing the impact of odour experienced recently,'' he said.

Other measures to control the odour include reduced operating hours, upgrades to the process water treatment, odour management systems in the mixed waste facility and an odour destruction fence which will soon be erected.

The odours will be closely monitored.

On the nose

PAKENHAM’S sickening stink has returned with a vengeance.

Cardinia Shire Council fielded ‘a handful’ of complaints about the stench last week, when some residents noted the smell around Bald Hill Road and the Henty Park estate.

Business owner Michael Porter said the smell had returned after a brief hiatus.

“It gets inside our factory and then we can’t get it out, the workers are sick of it and so am I. It seems to be in the mornings and evenings. It has been fairly good for a few months but this last fortnight it is back with a vengeance,” he said.

Pakenham resident Nola Ellis said the stench had been blanketing Henty Park since Sunday afternoon.

“It smells like compost to us, rotten,” she said.

Fellow resident Joanne Miles described the smell as ‘mouldy old rubbish’ while Jacqui Haysom said it was more like ‘rotting bodies.’

Karen Muntz said it smelt like a cover-up. “It smells like garbage that’s had eucalyptus leaves mulched through it, like they are trying to cover the smell … it really makes it smell odd and made me gag while I was driving,” she said.

And while some people are certain of the stink, others living in the same areas say the smell is not so bad.

Christian Smith said he lived off Bald Hill Road but wasn’t offended by the smell.

“At least once a year we get smells from the surrounding farms. I think people need to harden up,” he said. Melanie Leighton said the smell had been in Pakenham on and off for 28 years, while Christian Smith said it just smelt like chicken poo.

“It’s not that bad. The people complaining obviously haven’t been to a farm,” he said.

But a new Pakenham resident said she was ‘nearly sick’ after the smell seeped into the house.

“I’ve never experienced this before … it’s not the best advertisement for the town,” she said.

Cardinia Shire Council spokesman Paul Dunlop said the council understood residents’ concerns and was working towards a solution.

“We have previously worked with business operators and the EPA to reduce odours emanating from local business operators and will continue to do so in the future,” he said.

“Appropriate action will be taken to address any unauthorised activity relating to odours recognised as a nuisance or which have emanated as a result of a breach of planning regulations.

“We value residents’ opinions and are committed to open, honest, two-way communication.

If residents feel a particular smell is stronger on some days than others, they are encouraged to contact council on 1300 787 624.

We ask residents to take note of the time of day, wind direction, odour type and strength and where they believe it is originating from.”

Monday, May 17, 2010

I plant a tree


Saturday, May 15, 2010

Town looking to find source of odour eminating from catch basins

Residents living around the Avenues and Riverview Drive are not happy with the smell of sewage in the area that is so strong, it often prevents them from enjoying the outdoors.
Arnprior council recently received letters from several residents in the area complaining about the “potent sewage odour” and “disgusting odour of sewage” in the neighbourhood. Several indicated “most days, the smell is so obnoxious we are unable to enjoy the outdoors.”
“We’ve got Public Works and waterworks working on the issue,” explained Janet Collins, director of Public Works. “It is going to become quite a large procedure.”
According to residents, the smell emanates from catch basins and not the pumping station and Collins agreed.

Offensive odour

Someone! Anyone! Help! I was forced to endure a one-hour flight sitting next to a sharp-looking gentleman. He was dressed in crisp, clean clothes and polished shoes. He sported a fashionable watch and he had well-trimmed hair, clean nails, a ready smile, and kind eyes. He also STANK!!!

Someone! Anyone! Please tell me what is going on! I regularly train emerging leaders on how to deliver unpleasant news or give performance feedback to their subordinates in a respectful way. One of the most popular, yet distressing exercises I use in developing this skill is a simulation of being sent by your colleagues to inform a team member that s/he has bad body odour! Very few people want to do it, and even fewer know how to do it well - even with guidance. Sometimes it is hard to tell from the squirming going on, whether it is the person giving the feedback who is most uncomfortable, or the poor person being told that they have been perfuming the air with ‘eau de putrid’ - the strong and lingering aroma of rotten boiled eggs, wet carpet and vomit.

I have had occasion to very kindly and respectfully advise staff, colleagues and service providers to avail themselves of the use of a deodorant that is conveniently at hand in my drawer, in my bag, or in my guest toilet. But what is the protocol when the offence to the nostrils and to one’s comfort is being committed in a public space or when the offender is a complete stranger?

Let’s go back to the aeroplane. Confronted by Mr Odoriferous, I felt supremely sorry for myself, sorrier for my fellow passengers (don’t ask me why), and sorry for the crew whose work space had been infiltrated. You find that, in times of adversity, solidarity forms instantaneously, and it happened here too. Speaking glances, grimaces, and shows of sympathy flew back and forth amongst the newly formed fellowship of suffering passengers. Still, no one said anything.

Shouldn’t there be rules about this sort of thing?

Business etiquette teaches you suitable dress for the workplace. Could there not be etiquette about appropriate personal hygiene in public? Could Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) standards against air pollution be expanded to include odious body odour? Anyone who has been trapped in a lift, a car, or a bus with someone reeking of unwashed flesh knows what I am talking about.

Don’t get me wrong; I doubt if anyone sane would step out of their abode smelling bad. On enough occasions, the offender is not even aware that s/he is smelling. Once they are informed, the majority are mortified and take immediate action to suppress it.

Other times, body odour is simply a function of lifestyle - the combination of humidity, working outdoors in the heat and sun, sweat, and wearing clothes that were not completely dried after washing. Many cannot afford to buy deodorants and powders, and have to rely on their morning baths or rubbing lemon and other native remedies. This is not adequate in our climate if you are physically active or move around a lot outdoors.

Yet, some people simply won’t scrub their bodies, wash their clothes or change their underclothes daily. Others do not shave their underarm hair, wash their hair regularly or clean themselves properly after ‘easing’ themselves. It is pure carelessness.

A friend asked me why the body odour here is so much worse (in her estimation) than in the Western world. Well, for starters, how a person smells when they sweat is affected by what we eat and drink. In the Western world, their food is partially uncooked, like salads, and mostly bland to the taste. Our food is generally boiled or fried, and pungent with spices. Hence ‘pungent’ sweat.

An unfunny joke

Secondly, our odour also has to do with the quality of the air. Our air quality here is poor. We breathe in all kinds of pollutants from vehicles, generators and badly disposed waste. Those toxins find their way out of our bodies in our sweat.

Thirdly, our public transport system is choked with people rubbing up against each other. Workers trek long distances to bus stops, they wait and sweat in the sun, they squash into cars, buses, and onto the backs of trucks. Is it any wonder that they do not arrive at their destinations smelling fresh and fragrant?

Let’s go back to the aeroplane again. In situations where the cabin air quality has been compromised by a reeking passenger, what should the crew do? Should they behave the way up-market restaurants with a strict dress code do? They have a stock of jackets and ties to lend to patrons who arrive without them. Could the crew legitimately invite the ‘oozing’ passenger to make use of their stock of deodorants and fabric fresheners in the cabin toilets, and deny the person service until they co-operate?

I don’t have the answers but, really, we should do something. Anything. This joke is no longer funny. Life is too stressful to have to put up with a corrupting presence in close quarters. Let’s find a way to deal with the offence while respecting the sensibilities of the offender

High Court closes landfill

The High Court has granted an order allowing for the immediate forced closure of that nation’s most complained about landfill.
The Environmental Protection Agency had sought the order before the court to close down the licensed landfill near Naas in Co Kildare.
Both locals and national lobby groups have long been seeking the closure of the offending landfill in Naas as it omits a particularly foul order and is thought to be an environmental hazard.
The manager of the landfill said that if the High Court order was granted that his company would have to go into insolvency, but the judgement made clear that there was an overwhelming tide of opposition to the landfill as well as a foul odour which diffused throughout the surrounding area.
Mr Justice Sean Ryan said the situation was extremely serious as there had been breaches of the law in operating the facility.
He refused the company’s application to lift the injunction from last February and he granted a further injunction to the EPA to prevent waste from being taken into the site.

Cement factory sparks protest

Hundreds of people have held a protest rally near a cement factory in Perth's south, over concerns about corrosive dust and odour.

The Member for Cockburn, Fran Logan says more than 50 complaints have been lodged with the Department of Environment and Protection this year.

He says some people who live near the factory in Munster have had blood noses, headaches and breathing difficulties.

He has called for immediate action against the operators, Cockburn Cement, and accused the Environment Minister Donna Faragher of sitting on her hands.

Ms Faragher has rejected the claims.

"I am aware of those concerns that have been raised by the community and that is why the department is putting forward and proposing a much stricter licence," she said.

"They are also working with the Department of Health as well and that's the appropriate action."