Validating the Odor Footprint Tool Using Field Data

Trained participants monitored odors around a 4,800-head finishing site in eastern Nebraska during 2005 and 2006. “Mobile odor assessors” monitored odors within the downwind odor plume and reported that odors at off-site locations (at least 200 feet away) were consequentially annoying in 20 out of 192 assessments. On-site odor levels were considered annoying in 33 of 39 instances. For the same off-site locations and times, modeling predicted 18 annoying events, resulting in 90% prediction rate (18 vs. 20) of annoying frequency. Five residents regularly monitored for odors outside their residences and made 1,007 assessments. On 42 occasions, or 4.2% of the total, residents reported that annoying odor levels were present, equating to a 95.8% odor annoyance-free status. Predicted odor annoyance-free frequencies using the Odor Footprint Tool ranged from 90 to 99% for the five residences, given the locations of the residences and the livestock production facilities in the area