Jacques Whitford Presentation

1
Jacques Whitford Presentation

• Introduction to Odour
• Emissions Review (NPRI)
• Particulate Emissions
• Noise Assessment
• February 21, 2007

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What is Odour?

• Odour is the sensation resulting from the
  stimulation of the olfactory organs
• An odorant is a substance capable of eliciting an
  olfactory response.
• People associate odours with past experiences and
  involuntarily assess the odour as likable,
  dislikable or indifferent (e.g. in a study by
  Iowa State University, children younger than 5
  rated sweat and feces odours as likable, but
  above that age as unlikable).

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Odour Response

• The way the human response to an odour is
  evaluated, depends on the particular sensory
  property that is being measured, including
• Intensity (the strength of the perceived odour
  sensation),
• Detectability (the minimum concentration that
  produces an olfactory response or sensation),
• Character (property that identifies an odour and
  differentiates it from another odour of equal
  intensity), and
• Hedonic tone (property of an odour relating to
  its pleasantness or unpleasantness ).
• The combined effect of these properties is
  related to the annoyance that may be caused by
  the odour.
• Human ability to perceive odour varies widely, as
  does individual responses to a specific odour.

4
Odour Quantification

• Mixtures of compounds require dynamic
  olfactometry for assessment of odour level.
• This involves exposing a selected and controlled
  panel of observers to precise variations in the
  concentrations in a controlled sequence, to
  determine the point at which only half the panel
  can detect the odour.
• This point is called the odour threshold or one
  odour unit.

5
Odour in the Environment

• VOC emissions are emitted from the stacks and are
  carried downwind.
• The plume dilutes via entrainment of ambient air
  as it is carried downwind.
• Residents downwind of the stacks are exposed to
  the diluted concentrations of the VOCs and may or
  may not detect the odour depending on the
  concentration and chemical.

6
Emissions Review (NPRI)
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National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)

• Background
• Nation-wide, facility specific, publicly
  accessible inventory
• Inception in 1992.
• Collects information about On-site releases and
  disposal, off-site transfers for disposal and
  recycling, pollution prevention.
• Substances to be reported has changed over the
  years.
• Reporting Criteria Threshold Determination
• Employee threshold (Number of employee hours)
• Activity based (Some activities are exempt from
  the employee threshold)
• MPO (Manufacture, Process or Otherwise Use)
  Threshold varies by substance
• Release Threshold varies by substance
• Concentration Threshold varies by substance

8
Raywal NPRI Reporting
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Breakdown of VOC Emissions for Markham
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Emissions - Summary

• Raywal emissions did not jump substantially in
  2002 NPRI reporting criteria changed resulting
  in more emissions being reported.
• Raywal emissions (total VOCs) have decreased
  slightly over the last three reporting years.
• Raywal was about 1 of total VOC emissions in
  Markham in 2000-2002 (an approximate estimate).

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Particulate Emissions

• PM emissions from wood cutting, sanding, etc are
  controlled by pick-up points through the facility
  and vented to a baghouse.
• The baghouse uses cloth filter bags to remove PM
  from the air stream. Baghouses typically have 99
  or greater removal efficiencies.
• The exhaust from the baghouse is vented back into
  the building no external PM emissions.
• In the spray booths, filters are used to removed
  paint droplets from overspray. These filters are
  typically about 95 efficient.
• If paint droplets pass through the filters, they
  typically deposit in the stack or on the roof a
  good indicator of poorly performing spray booth
  filters is paint around the top of the stack.
  This is not happening at Raywal.

12
Raywal Noise Assessment
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Noise Mitigation Recommendations