We are aware that the community has been experiencing ongoing odours around the Tarago area and are investigating. We appreciate that odours can be unpleasant and can impact quality of life.
We are reviewing each report of odour and requiring Veolia Environmental Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd (Veolia) to improve odour management at its Woodlawn Eco Precinct.
We use a variety of regulatory approaches to ensure Veolia put measures in place to prevent odour and comply with their licence. Our regulatory decision making is undertaken in line with our Regulatory policy.
Reporting odours
Community reports play an important role in the EPA’s investigation of odours. Important information on odours can be recorded using the fact sheet and odour log sheet (PDF 160KB).
If you are experiencing odour impacts please contact our Environment Line on 131 555
Tarago odours
Veolia operates three EPA licensed facilities at its Woodlawn Eco Precinct, the Woodlawn Landfill, the Woodlawn Mechanical Biological Treatment Facility and the Crisps Creek Intermodal Facility. These licences do not permit offensive odour to leave the premises.
These licences are available on the public register
- Woodlawn Landfill
- Woodlawn Mechanical Biological Treatment Facility
- Crisps Creek Intermodal Facility
We are committed to reducing the odour impacts on the community as a priority and have undertaken a range of actions including:
- Directing Veolia to install and operate new monitoring stations for meteorology and hydrogen sulphide (rotten-egg smell) at the landfill and in Tarago. The EPA requires Veolia to publicly report these monitoring results (see below).
- Including comprehensive landfill surface gas monitoring and public reporting conditions on their licence to assist with the continuous improvement of landfill gas management.
- Ensuring Veolia implement additional leachate treatment plant works to increase water extraction from the landfill to improve the efficiency of the gas extraction system.
- Directing Veolia to follow up on Annual Independent Odour Audit (a condition of the major project approval) recommendations to mitigate odours including a Landfill Gas Composition Analysis and training of staff to undertake regular odour surveys.
- A Development Control Order (issued by DPE Planning) that requires Veolia to engage specialists to develop short, medium, and long-term leachate and water management strategies within specified timeframes.
We are working with Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure to ensure that Veolia have appropriate safeguards in place to prevent offensive odours from the Woodlawn Eco Precinct and that Veolia comply with all statutory requirements in major project approvals and environment protection licences.
Where necessary we take action including issuing Penalty Notices, Prevention Notices, Warning Letters, Official Cautions and Pollution Reduction Programs for non-compliance with licence conditions.
We encourage people who experience odours to report to the 24-hour Environment Line on 131 555.
Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) monitoring
The Environment Protection Licence for the Woodlawn Landfill requires Veolia to operate an ambient air quality monitoring surveillance system to provide real-time feedback on the presence of hydrogen sulphide which has been a common type of odour reported by the Tarago community. One of three AcrulogTM monitors is located in the vicinity of the Woodlawn Landfill. Two other monitors are located in the surrounding residential areas where odours are known to occur.
The real-time data can be viewed for the Veolia Eco Precinct, Tarago Recreation Area and Tarago Showground on Veolia’s website.
How do the monitors work?
The automatic AcrulogTM monitors are about the size of a litre carton of milk. They take an air sample every 10 minutes and analyse it for hydrogen sulphide (rotten egg gas). Hydrogen sulphide is a heavier-than-air colourless gas with a rotten egg smell.
The monitors can detect levels as low as 0.003 parts of hydrogen sulphide per million parts of air (ppm), and as high as 2 ppm. About half of the population can smell hydrogen sulphide at a concentration of around 0.008 parts hydrogen sulphide per million parts of air (ppm), but some people can smell it at 0.0005 ppm while others first smell it at 0.3 ppm.
Do the odours cause health impacts?
(Information provided by NSW Health)
Exposure to these low concentrations of hydrogen sulphide may cause irritation to the eyes, nose or throat, and difficulties in breathing in people with asthma. Repeated exposures at these levels can also understandably cause anxiety and distress and result in indirect symptoms such as headaches and nausea.
These effects are likely to be minor and temporary and should stop once the air quality improves.
Hydrogen sulphide once it enters the body does not accumulate as it is rapidly processed in the liver and excreted in the urine.
If residents are concerned about their symptoms or if symptoms persist once the odours have ceased, they should seek advice from their local general practitioner.