Odor Assessment and Management in Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Review

The stricter environmental regulations, encroachment of residential areas on wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and increasing public expectations on privatized water companies have resulted in an increase in the number of public odor complaints during the last decades. Despite not being a direct cause of disease, long-term exposure to high-strength odorant emissions actually does negatively affect human health (e.g., causing nausea, headaches, respiratory problems). Therefore, the minimization and abatement of unpleasant odor emissions are becoming two of the major challenges for WWTP utilities worldwide. However, information regarding odor formation, sources, sampling, characterization, impact assessment, and control techniques is rather sparse in the literature. Therefore, there is a need for an integrated approach to odor assessment and management.