The Chilean Environmental Minister Carolina Schmidt, visited last Thursday the facilities of the company Ecometrika. During that visit she participated in an olfactometric measurement and learnt a bit about the ways to manage odours.  Ms Schmidt announced the publication in the Chilean Official Journal of the first development of a regulation to manage odours from the pig industry. She also pointed out that there will soon be other regulations for Waste water treatment plants, landfills and paper mills.

   According to the Minister: "with this regulation the government is aiming to improve the air quality of the people, avoiding the impact of annoying odours, from plants near a community." This declaration was made after her participation in an olfactometric measurement in the lab of the company TSG environmental. The resolution published in the official journal of Chile sets a deadline of one and a half months (until the 31st of December 2018) to send comments and scientific, social and technical documentation on this issue to this e-mail. The draft of a regulation will be ready on the 15th of November 2019.

   You probably remember that a group of people of the ZUT University in the city of Szczecin in Poland promoted a decision to the European Parliament about a gap in the environmental legislation related to odour levels in ambient air. Many European and not-European citizens adhered to that petition and after a year and a half the final reply was sent. Today the European Parliament sent to the participants of this Petition 0884/2016, a draft agenda indicating that the petition has been proposed to be closed.

 These bad news regarding the petition of a group of people of the ZUT University led by Mr Bogdan Ambrożek for a new odour legislation in Europe were actually a bit expected after having a look to the Commission reply published this February. The Commission mentioned at that time that "odour should best be addressed at local level by the competent authorities" and "it (the Commission) does not intend to propose any additional specific requirements regulating odour nuisances".