Environmental Information System and Odour Monitoring based on Citizen and Technology Innovative Sensors.

The challenge is the integration of citizens as “community-based” observation providers, giving the odour perception and discomfort and getting feed-back in real time from a learning monitoring system. The level of annoyance depends on how odours are emitted and in what intensity, their dispersion under ambient atmospheric conditions and finally on citizens’ exposure and perception. The Environmental Information System and Odour Monitoring deve loped in the project OMNISCIENTIS funded by the EU brings together state of the art technologies and open communication capabilities in order to mitigate odour annoyance. The project allows for citizen feedback, deepens knowledge on odour measurement and management and aims to support harmonised legislation at EU level. Moreover the project results can provide savings to industries. The core is an information system allowing inhabitants to serve as human sensors, acting according to sociological patterns, which influence odour perception, discomfort and nuisance. It provides a dedicated tool to consider odour acceptability, based on a community-based opinion. Due to the subjective nature of odour perception, odour monitoring and fast modelling is used to assist and adjust the information citizens provide via Smartphone and obtained by e-nose and modelling. Innovative in-situ sensors are improved to monitor ambient odour exposures. A specific odour dispersion model system is developed to obtain interrelated spatial odour exposure levels. This fast and innovative model system helps us to evaluate the performance of measures taken at the very moment odours are emitted and with respect to the way in which these occur. The Living Lab approach ensures stakeholder involvement, citizens’ participation in decision-making and supports dissemination activities. The results are conveyed to stakeholders and general public. 1. Description of the problem Odour is recognized as a strong or even severe nuisance. Be it emitted by industry, landfill or livestock breeding, Odour is listed as the second source of complaints by the Environmental Agency ADEME in France and the Environmental Policy in Wallonia (Belgium). Odour cannot be monitored or regulated like a pollutant: its perception is linked to a human sense; it must be evaluated in terms of impact and potential annoyance on people. In contrast to air pollutants or noise, odour monitoring limitation and regulation are a complex issue and non-homogenous concepts and approaches support the odour regulation in Europe. Industrials usually develop strategies to mitigate the olfactory impact of their production processes on the neighbours, in the framework of the existing regulations (use of masking products, adjustment of the production to cope with legal constraints). Though, citizens are up to now, “victims” appealing against odour nuisance. Sometimes they may be asked to contribute to solve the problem in “passive” observatories, allowing them to complain but, in the majority of cases, without getting feed-back, and their input is seldom used to validate the results of models or measuring devices such as e-noses.