NOSE: olfactory nuisance controle
Protecting the quality of life of residents: overall odour management
As a direct sensation, odour may be perceived by those living in the vicinity of our facilities as a nuisance, and can even cause damage. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT therefore believes that is has a role to provide the technical, human and financial resources necessary to control and manage odour emissions. Our intention is clear: to guarantee the absence of olfactory nuisance for those living in the vicinity of our facilities. To deal with this problem, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT companies decided in February 2004 to coordinate their resources and create an initiative common to all business lines: the NOSE programme, led by CIRSEE. Aims of the programme: overall management of odours generated by various facilities (wastewater treatment plants, sludge re-use and waste management centres). NOSE is applied in parallel on 2 levels: a technical approach to determine the measured olfactory footprint of a facility, and a human approach, using the human nose as the key tool in odour research. We therefore need to train "expert noses" and "indicator noses" in our panel of residents.
The Olfactometry Laboratory: a nose for research
Inaugurated in 2006, the Olfactometry Laboratory at CIRSEE supports this effort. Samples taken on the sites are presented to a Nose Jury to classify the odours. The human nose is an extremely sensitive organ and can perceive compounds, even in tiny concentrations, quantify them and describe them as pleasant or unpleasant. This is something that testing tools can never do.
The Odour Wheel®: a sensory tool for residents
Developed in partnership with UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), the Odour Wheel® associates a recognised odour with the chemical compound in question. As a result, operators, sales teams and local residents now possess a common language with which to categorise odours, to establish a constructive dialogue between all parties and to ensure that the company's facilities are integrated in their social context. A key communications tool between researchers and the public.
Shoreline protection: global expertise for beachwater
As more and more people use the shore line, in particular for, tourism, the issue of bathing water quality has become of greater concern. The new European Directive adopted on 15 February 2006 has added the principles of planning and response to simple reporting. To meet this challenge, Lyonnaise des Eaux, backed by its Technical Coastline Centre, has developed its "Bathing Water" project, involving 3 steps:
- before the summer: monitoring and preliminary assessment of beaches,
- during the season: daily monitoring inspections and regular information reports to ensure a rapid response in the event of a pollution incident. The Rapid Enzymatic Method (MER), based on molecular biology techniques, delivers test results in one hour. In addition, "Aquaspot", a public information system for local authorities, is able to inform the public about the quality of the bathing water in a very short period of time,
- after the season: in-depth data analysis to obtain information and improve the surveillance protocol. This expertise provides local authorities with a tool to assess bathing water quality and is already in use at dozens of French beaches, including Biarritz, Etretat, Agde and Cannes. The "bathing water" system is yet another innovative solution from SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT to protect the coastline.
Vacuum trash collection systems
SITA and Ros Roca, the leading Spanish company in waste-management equipment technologies, have signed an exclusive partnership agreement for the development of pneumatic collection of household waste. Particularly suited to new urban developments and in the renovation of historical city centres, pneumatic collection is a radical departure from traditional collection methods in that waste is no longer placed on public thoroughfares, rubbish trucks are taken out of traffic flow, and all of the nuisances associated with this activity are eliminated. As an entirely underground and hermetically sealed system, it contributes towards protecting the environment by creating a cleaner urban setting that is more functional and more ecological. For local authorities, this waste-management technology goes hand-in-hand with the collection of other types of waste (bulky items, glass, hazardous waste) in the context of an overall urban environment policy.
