Co-creating data based on human nose perceptions to study odour nuisance from an oilseed industry

Odour nuisance is the second environmental problem with more citizen complaints after noise. This fact and the lack of odour regulation in Portugal led way to develop a bottom-up approach focused on citizens to co-create the analysis. Despite the existence of odour measuring instruments, the human nose is a universal sensor with high sensitivity that allows to assess the impact of discomfort on human receptors. A sensorial method was conducted in a community neighbor of an oilseed industry that cause impact on their daily life because of the “cereal/flours/meal” odour. Two monitoring campaigns were conducted with the help of a group of citizens forming an observers panel (OP) whose function was to record the positive perceptions of odor. A road circuit was outlined by the technical team also to register odour perceptions but essentially to verify the OP registers. For both cases a meteorological analysis was conducted with a weather station. Results showed that the “cereal/flours/meal” kind of odour was registered by the OP 150 times during a six month period. The intensity level, although week, was several times percepted when the meteorological conditions were week wind and wind blowing from the northwest which led the plume towards the population.