Richmond compost odours ‘offensive’ but not a health hazard, official says
The terrible smells coming from a Richmond composting operation are not considered a health hazard, according to Vancouver Coastal Health’s chief medical health officer.
However, Dr. Patricia Daly said in a letter to the City of Richmond that the odours are affecting area residents’ quality of life, and even causing some physical discomfort.
Harvest Power runs a composting and biofuel facility in east Richmond that has been the subject of numerous odour complaints to Metro Vancouver, the regional body that regulates air quality.
Richmond Public Health has also received complaints, Daly said. The majority of the complaints are about “diminished quality of life,” but complainants also have concerns about their own health or the health of their family members. A few of those people have mentioned symptoms such as nausea, difficulty breathing, irritation such as burning eyes, vomiting, headaches or generally feeling unwell.
Daly noted the health complaints are consistent with those noted in published environmental health literature on the impacts of unpleasant odours from composting and other sources.
“Based on the information provided by Metro Vancouver and our literature review, we are satisfied that while Harvest Power is generating extremely unpleasant odorous compounds, the air emissions from the operation are unlikely to cause health effects in addition to ones triggered by the offensive smell,” Daly wrote.
She said the issue does not meet the threshold of “health hazard” and no further health assessments are planned at this time.
Daly said that composting systems should not produce offensive odours and indicated that Vancouver Coastal Health medical and environmental health officers support conditions placed by Metro Vancouver on Harvest’s air quality management permit, which was issued on Sept. 30 and is in effect until April 2020. Harvest has appealed some of those conditions.