Odour

Odour Migration Assessments (Using Tracer Gas):

What is a Odour Assessment?

Understanding ventilation can be very complex, especially when there is the need to determine its effectiveness to dilute and remove pollutants and how that may relate to indoor environmental quality and the exposure of building occupants to contaminants within that environment. Using tracer gas techniques to understand exhaust flows and airflow patterns in newly developed and existing facilities, one can investigate the origin and the likely migration patterns for chemical vapours, and their attendant odours that can occur within a space.

In general, a tracer gas test involves the use of a non-toxic, easily detectable tracer as a surrogate to mimic the source of a gas or vapour which may be irritating, uncomfortable or toxic to building occupants.

To determine the source of an odour migration problem, gas containing tracer is injected at a low exit velocity into a likely odour source region. Air samples are obtained from selected locations at timed intervals and analyzed for the presence or absence of tracer gas.
The tracer gas arrival time at each location provides information on the speed of odour migration, while the actual location and concentration magnitude provide information about odour movement pathways and probable concentrations at measured locations.
Assessing odour migration patterns during a given time period will allow our clients to diagnose deficiencies of critical engineering control mechanisms and produce sets of flowrate data that can be used to evaluate the acceptability of current building components and to devise effective modifications to the control strategies if necessary. A simple tracer gas test can show the average travel time for air through the exhaust system as a result of the size, length and number of exhaust routes.

Contact GEP to schedule a free consultation to determine if this method can assist you in achieve your goals.