Crying foul over odour claims

ODOUR experts have inspected the site of a proposed chicken farm in the Southern Downs. Carr Farming Trust has appealed a Southern Downs Regional Council decision in the Planning and Environment Court to establish a poultry farm at Elbow Valley, west of Warwick, with "unreasonable" conditions. Council approved the chicken facility application but only for 28 chicken sheds, down from the development application request of 48 sheds. Each shed would house 60,000 chickens at any time, with neighbouring property owners objecting on the grounds of odour, dust, vehicle movements and water contamination issues. An expert report, tended to the court, on the potential impact of odours to surrounding properties found one property, in particular, would be a "critical receptor" to odours. The Carr Farming Trust claimed the conditions imposed on their venture were too onerous. In particular, the trust believed a council-imposed condition the company amalgamate surrounding properties unreasonable. The matter was listed in the Planning and Environment Court in Brisbane on Friday for an on-site inspection. Site neighbours had granted permission for officials to use their property during the inspection, court documents show. According to documents filed to the court, Judge Philip Robin ordered odour experts for council and Carr Farming Trust to finalise another report by 5pm on Friday.

Govt moves to clean up fowl stench

In an effort to deal with the stench and environmental risks from the solid wastes of the poultry sector, Government will embark on a project to clean up and beautify the industry, says Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj. Maharaj, speaking at a meeting with members of the poultry sector at Marriott Hotel, Invaders Bay, said that the project will approach the Green Fund and other United Nations agencies for financial and technical support. The Food Production Ministry, he said, through the Agricultural Development Bank and in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, is conceptualising "Greening of the Poultry Sector". Maharaj said a comprehensive environmental scan of the sector will be completed to determine the number and location of poultry farms and pluck shops, the number of chickens raised at each farm annually, the total waste produced, an analysis of the poultry litter and where it is spread and a soil analysis of areas where poultry litter is spread. A clean development mechanism project will be developed, he said, that will treat with the solid waste emitted by the poultry sector. Additionally, trees will be planted and ventilation systems will be modernised to treat with potential air pollution. The poultry industry, said Maharaj, has seen phenomenal growth worldwide and in this country the poultry sector accounts for more than 50 per cent of agriculture's contribution to GDP. Maharaj said over the past decades with the sector's growth there is far more waste that can be managed by land disposal, resulting in environmental problems. "As you may know, poultry facilities are a source of odour and attract flies, rodents and other pests that create local nuisances and carry disease. Odour emissions from poultry farms adversely affect the life of people living in the vicinity. Odour associated with poultry operations comes from fresh and decomposing waste products such as manure, carcasses, feathers and bedding litter," he said. On-farm odour, he added, is mainly emitted from poultry buildings, manure and storage facilities. "Odour from animal feeding operations is not caused by a single compound, but is rather the result of a large number of contributing compounds, including ammonia, volatile organic compounds, and hydrogen sulphide," said Maharaj. "Although generally not causing any public health concern, odours can represent a strong local problem that is frequently reported by farms' neighbours as the most disturbing environmental impact," the minister added.

A Mysterious Odour ?

The City of St. John's is aware of a foul odour over the weekend and again today that seems to be emanating from the downtown area and spreading for miles east and west. But there doesn't seem to be any answers as to where it's coming from. A city spokeswoman said the manager of St. John's sewage treatment plant at St. John's harbour smelled the odour herself on the weekend and set out to check out the plant's functioning. However, she said, everything was functioning well at the plant. "It's definitely not coming from there," she said. The spokeswoman said a further check today with the city's environmental services staff couldn't find any breaks in sewer pipes that could cause such an odour. "So, it doesn't seem to be anything with the city that has caused it," she said. The harbour does have a unique odour of its own, she said, and the foggy, damp conditions on the weekend could have contributed to it spreading, but that doesn't seem to explain the strong foul odour many people in the city have described as being like raw sewage. On the weekend, two of the largest cruise ships to ever visit the city were in port around the same time the odour was at its peak. The spokeswoman checked into how their sewage tanks are emptied and told The Telegram, she was assured they were pumped out by Crosbie Industrial Services trucks after arriving in port. She said the city has actually made strides in cleaning up St. John's Harbour and its treatment plant has been functioning so well in recent weeks, the city will likely soon provide a public update on the project's overall progress. In the meantime, city officials are interested in finding the source of the foul odour, but have no idea where it's coming from.

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New plan to beat waste plant stink

A waste plant is planning to double the size of its chimneys to try to get rid of odours upsetting neighbours.

Residents in Farington have been complaining about the stenches coming from Lancashire Waste Technology Park in Sustainability Way, Leyland, for more than a year.

Now bosses at the £320m site, a joint venture between Global Renewables and Lancashire County Council, have applied for planning permission to extend five biofilter exhaust chimney stacks in a bid to tackle the smells.

They reckon increasing the height from 39ft to 82ft will disperse the air better and greatly reduce the odours. They also want to heat waste using a new machine to reduce the pressure on the system they already have

A planning statement, submitted to South Ribble Council, explains: "The primary function of the odour management system installed is to reduce the potential for impact on local residents and their environment.

"Its current configuration is not as effective as originally envisaged and accordingly, the proposed increase in height of the stacks has been

modelled as the most effective and immediate way of ensuring that potential fugitive odour issues can be mitigated to the appropriate levels as originally planned."

Some neighbours reckon the plan will not be enough to tackle the smells, however.

Objector Stephen Oldham, who lives on nearby Bispham Avenue, wrote: "Raising the height of the exhaust stacks will not have any effect on the odour.

"The problem should be solved at its source, with no odour being emitted into the atmosphere. More than doubling the height of the stacks will have an adverse effect on residential property."

Guidelines for Recycling Plant

RINGWOOD-based business CMA Recycling is being forced to comply with strict operational guidelines following a decision by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last week. VCAT has ordered Maroondah Council to endorse the management plans developed throughout the tribunal proceedings, including dust, noise and odour regulations. Council chief executive officer Frank Dixon said the decision was welcomed "as it imposes many, and very detailed, obligations on how CMA must operate its business and how CMA must monitor the impact of its operations on others". "Clearly council's decision to bring the proceedings was justified and necessary to bring CMA's operations into line," he said. "While holding CMA to account has consumed significant council and community resources, council remains committed to protecting the amenity and health and safety of its community." But the tribunal hearing showed CMA was not entirely in the wrong, with senior member Jeanette Rickards, who presided over the hearing, saying "it seemed to me that in relation to the management plans neither [the council] nor CMA were very clear as to what they really wanted". "The plans presented required a considerable amount of work from both sides to ensure that they are effective, enduring and implement a reliable regime in terms of management, particularly of dust, noise, odour and explosions." The Weekly recently reported CMA had announced it would be moving the Heatherdale Road shredder within two to three years to a more "suitable" location.

Smell you later: The nose knows - and can significantly boost memory of products

Contrary to popular belief, researchers say the true power of scent isn't in affecting our mood — surprisingly, an uncommon occurrence — but rather its capacity to make us linger longer, spend more, recall brands more positively, and greatly improve our memory for products. In fact, a new study shows the latter effect is so potent that it even outshines an advertisement's visuals in terms of boosting brand recall. "When I first started doing this work, I assumed that if scent had an impact, it would be primarily related to people's moods. But it's actually rare that I find that effect," says Maureen Morrin, a professor of marketing at Rutgers University in New Jersey. "In my analyses, memory is improved because scent makes people pay closer attention to things. It makes them look longer and process more deeply." This bears out in a study conducted by Morrin and May Lwin, of Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, using 100 women in a simulated movie-house environment. The cinema was used because it's one of the last strongholds of captive audiences, with consumers being unable to fast-forward through ads and less likely to divert their attention from them. Participants were shown a spa ad in one of four conditions: scented theatre, ad with pictures; scented theatre, ad with no pictures; unscented theatre, ad with pictures; unscented theatre, ad with no pictures. In the scented condition, a rose-sandalwood combo was used because pre-tests revealed it as an especially pleasant odour to women. Ad recall was tested five minutes later, and again in two weeks, with a scent strip used to trigger memory. In both cases, scent proved a mighty force. "When the ad contained pictures as opposed to no pictures, memory went up. If you added a scent, memory went up. And if you had both pictures and a scent, consumers' memories improved by more than those two things added together; that is, one plus one equalled more than two," says Morrin, whose study appears in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour. "So not only do scent and pictures help memory, when you put them together, they have a super-additive effect." But don't expect commercials in smellovision anytime soon. Morrin notes that the cost of installing scent diffusers in theatres is unlikely to be tolerated until studies establish a clear return on investment. She also says there are limitations to its use in large groups because many people have olfactory sensitivity. The effects of scent on brand recall are so strong, however, that marketers can be expected to leverage them in more practical ways — some of which you may have already experienced. A handful of Canadian liquor stores, for example, have pumped the aroma of freshly cut grass into beer aisles to evoke cracking a cold one at a BBQ. Last year, Spy Kids 4 was presented in "aroma-scope," with audiences being given scented cards to sniff at different plot points. There are even burger-scented candles designed to remind White Castle patrons of the chain's beefy fare. "When you're in an environment with a pleasant odour, somehow your brain is telling you that it's a safe place," says Morrin. "It's almost a Darwinian thing." Indeed. Survival of the fittest wallet.

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Clean Harbors rejects lawsuit claims

The Clean Harbors hazardous waste facility St. Clair Township operates a landfill and incinerator. CATHY DOBSON/THE OBSERVER/QMI AGENCY ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP - As the deadline looms for Clean Harbors to clean up millions of litres of odorous leachate at its hazardous waste site, the company denies causing neighbour Jim Stenton any health problems. A statement of defence filed in answer to a $25,000 lawsuit from Stenton states that Clean Harbors Canada “acknowledges that odour issues have arisen at the Corunna facility. “But testing performed by the government would indicate that the odour issues did not present a health issue,” says the statement filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Stenton, 64, lives within a few kilometres of Clean Harbors’ Telfer Road site. He says that a “putrid” stench from the site woke him numerous times in July 2011 and caused him to leave his home. His claim describes various health impacts including shortness of breath, headaches, watery eyes, nausea and swelling. On two occasions, the claim states, 9-1-1 was called when Stenton experienced high blood pressure, nausea, and a headache. Both parties say they are awaiting a date with a judge for a settlement conference. However, Stenton said Tuesday he wants to go to trial. “Unless they come up with an unconditional full settlement, I’m ready to risk court costs and whatever it takes,” he said. “I’ve been fighting this thing off and on for 40 years and they need to clean up their act.” The Environment Ministry ordered Clean Harbors to remove more than 20 million litres of smelly leachate from its property by Thursday. “The ministry inspected our facility two weeks ago and we received confirmation that we met all the terms and conditions of their orders ahead of the May 31 deadline,” said Phillip Retallick, senior VP of regulatory affairs for Clean Harbors. The company spent more than $1 million to incinerate or remove the leachate. About half was destroyed in the on-site incinerator and some was shipped to an U.S.-based commercial hazardous waste injection well. The rest was captured in two new leachate ponds that have been covered with impervious roofing. “Right now the working face of the landfill, which had the accumulated leachate, is dry,” Retallick said Tuesday. “We believe these changes we’ve made will mitigate if not eliminate odours.” Clean Harbors will be “vigilant” in the future to ensure its hazardous waste doesn’t impact the surrounding community,” Retallick added. “We will not let our guard down.” The storm water management system at the landfill has been improved to ensure processed water and non-processed water doesn’t mix, he said. The intense odours, which neighbours complained about for about six months, were likely caused by a lot of rainfall over the past three years and a buildup of leachate, Retallick said. “We were not able to do as good a job controlling the amount of runoff as we should have.” The MoE’s Kate Jordan confirmed Clean Harbors has complied with the ministry order to reduce and control odour. The order remains in effect and the company is required to continue to report on its incineration schedule, she said. Despite hot temperatures in May there were no odour complaints related to Clean Harbors from neighbours, Jordan added. “It looks like they’ve done everything the ministry ordered,” agreed Lori Vokes, spokesperson for several dozen residents who live near the site. “The neighbours have been telling me there’s been a big improvements in leachate odours there. We’re cautiously optimistic the problem is finally under control,” Vokes said. “When I look back on it, the million dollar question is why did Clean Harbors and the ministry allow these massive amounts of leachate to accumulate. “It’s like watching a toxic time bomb and not doing anything about it, just waiting until it goes off to do something.”

Expansion options stink in Chemainus

The Cowichan Valley Regional District is giving to the company operating a composting facility in Chemainus conditional approval to expand. Coast Environmental Ltd. must choose one of two options if they want to move from accepting strictly sludge, including sewage, brewery and dairy, to also accepting food, fish and garden waste. Bob McDonald with the CVRD said the first option is to place a six-month moratorium on expanding and then a six-month phasing in of the new system, with the district closely monitoring and measuring the expansion. But McDonald said the second option, to enclose the entire facility inside a single building, is their preference. “The hope is that they’ll take that option and this will be the end of concern in the community and odours will be a thing of the past and most people won’t even know they’re operating there.” Last fall, dozens of residents, including local businessperson Cam Drew, protested the foul smell emanating from the site. Drew told SunFM News that he doesn't understand why coast Environmental is looking to make their operations even bigger. “When you’ve been hit with that odour, it offends you so deeply, that it’s just difficult to comprehend how an operator—the problems they’ve had in the past—is given the opportunity to handle even more tonnage, more product.” Under municipal and provincial bylaws, the CVRD is legally required to let the facility expand if it doesn't impact the people and the surroundings. Drew agrees with the CVRD’s position that Coast Environmental should choose the option of enclosing the entire composting facility. The CVRD, in conjunction with North Cowichan, is responsible only for regulating the composting part of the operation, while the sewage transfer section is unregulated.

Residents welcome moves to cut odour

News that the awful smell from a Dubai sewage plant could be virtually eradicated has been welcomed by people who own property nearby - some of whom said the smell is so bad they moved out. News that the awful smell from a Dubai sewage plant could be virtually eradicated has been welcomed by people who own property nearby - some of whom said the smell is so bad they moved out. A number of people who own homes in the Persia and Morocco clusters of International City, as well as in nearby Al Warqa, told 7DAYS they have chosen to rent out their homes rather than live in them because of the pong. ​ The plant’s smell has driven some people away from the area, residents claim “When I took up my home in Morocco two years ago the stench was awful, especially at night due to the strong winds. I couldn’t even use the balcony,” said Abdul Kadir Rafeeq, a lecturer in Dubai who bought his one-bedroom flat for Dhs300,000. “Besides the inconvenience, I worried for the health of my two daughters.” Dubai Municipality said on Tuesday it hopes to reduce odour emissions from Al Aweer Sewage Treatment Plant by up to 98 per cent using new treatment processes. It admitted it had received complaints about the problem. Iranian businessman Behram Khoadad is another homeowner who says he was driven away, this time from the Persia cluster. And, he said even those he rented his apartment to could not bear it and moved out after about two months. But, the homeowners said they are looking forward to moving back once the pong is gone. Mohammed Abdulaziz Najm, director of sewage treatment at the municipality, said studies had been conducted over a number of years to come up with the best solution. “With more developments approaching the plant, the health of people and safety of the environment have become a major priority,” he said, adding a special task force was formed about six months ago to deal with the problem. “Through this task force and our improved methods, we have so far attained a 98 per cent reduction in the smell and we have seen a remarkable decline in complaints,” said Rashid Karkain, head of the Al Aweer operation section. However, some tenants at International City said yesterday they could still smell the plant.

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While many consumers may not be familiar with what an OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer product is, they are becoming more and more common. This is particularly true due to the rise in online shopping. This brief article takes a look at what these OEM products are, their differences with retail products and try to answer if they are things consumers should or should not buy. What it Means to be an OEM Product To put an OEM product in the simplest terms, it is a product from a manufacturer that is sold without the retail packaging to system integrators and retailers for purchase in or with a completed computer system. Often they are sold in larger lots or groups to help reduce the costs to the company using the parts for integration. What the OEM product will come with will vary depending upon the type of product being sold. So, how does the product vary? Typically the component that is purchased as an OEM product lacks all retail packaging. Also missing might be cables or software that may have been included with the retail version. Finally, there may be no or reduced instructions included with the OEM version of the product. A good example of these differences can be seen between an OEM and retail hard drive. The retail version is often referred to as a kit because it includes with it the drive cables, installation instructions, warranty cards and any software packages used to help configure or run the drive. The OEM version of the drive will only include the hard drive in a sealed anti-static bag with no other materials. Sometimes this will be referred to as a "bare drive". Retail vs. OEM Since price is such a huge factor in the purchase of product by consumers, OEM products offer a major advantage over a retail product. The reduced items and packaging can drastically reduce the cost of a computer component over a retail version. This leads to the question as to why anyone would chose to purchase the retail version. The biggest difference between a retail and OEM product is how warranties are handled. Most retail products come with very well defined terms for service and support in case the product has any problems. OEM products on the other hand will generally have shorter warranties and limited support. The reason is that the OEM product is supposed to be sold as part of a package via a retailer. Therefore, all service and support for the component in the system should be handled by the retailer if sold in a complete system. As a user who is building a computer system or upgrading a computer system, the retail version may also be important. If you are unfamiliar with what is required to install the component into the computer system, the manufacturer instructions can be very useful as are any cables that you may not have. OEM Software Like hardware, software can also be purchased as OEM. OEM software is identical to the full retail versions of the software but it lacks any packaging. Typically this will be seen with software items such as operating systems and office suites. Unlike OEM hardware, there are more restrictions on what will allow the software to be sold by a retailer to a consumer. OEM software typically can only be purchased with a complete computer system. Some retailers will allow the purchase of the software if it is also purchased with some form of core computer system hardware. In either case, there must be some additional purchase of hardware to go along with the OEM software. Be careful though, a number of unscrupulous retailers and individuals sell OEM software that is actually pirated software, so check the retailer before purchasing. Determining OEM or Retail When shopping for computer components, sometimes it may not be obvious if the item is an OEM or a retail version. Most reputable retailers will list the product as either "OEM" or "bare drive". Other items to look for would be in the product description. Items such as "Packaging" and "Warranty" can provide clues as to whether it is an OEM version. The biggest problem comes with the various pricing engines on the web. If a manufacturer uses the same product designation for an OEM and retail product, it is possible that retailers on the results page could be offering either version. Some pricing engines will list "OEM" next to the price, but others may not. Always read the product description if you are not sure. Are OEM Products OK? There should be no physical difference in a component if it is sold as OEM or in retail. The difference is the extras that are provided with the retail version. If you are comfortable with the terms of the OEM product compared to the retail version, then it is generally better to buy the OEM product for the reduced cost. If items such as product warranties bother you, purchase the retail versions for the peace of mind they provide.