Odour impact assessment in urban areas: case study of the city of Terni

This paper describes the methodology adopted for assessing the odour impact on the city of Terni, caused by the co-presence of three important industrial poles: the steel industry pole, the chemical pole and a third industrial pole, comprising different activities for the treatment of wastewaters and solid waste. The combination of olfactometric analyses and dispersion modelling allowed both the quantification of the emissions and the evaluation of their impact on the territory, which turned out to be considerable, actually investing almost the whole city of Terni. The study results also enabled to identify the most problematic odour sources.