In January this year, the Ministry of the Environment of Chile submitted for public information the preliminary draft regulation on the emission of pollutants in fishmeal and fish oil plants and fish feed plants that, based on their odours, generate nuisance and constitute a risk to the quality of life of the population*. This would be the second odour regulation to be addressed in this country after the recent approval of the Law Regulating Odour Emission from the Pig Sector in February. But this is just one of the Ministry's many actions. In this post, we will review some initiatives being carried out by this organisation.
Chile, perhaps with the exception of Germany, may be the only country in the world working effectively on odour impact management at a regulatory level. The Chilean Ministry of Environment has set out to end the free exhaust policy and improve air quality concerning this environmental vector. But what is this country doing to improve air quality for its citizens?
I would start by talking about the various outreach campaigns that the first odour standard for the pig sector has had. No regulator in the world, not even Germany, has carried out so many talks, meetings, and webinars with citizens, potentially odour-impacting activities and technicians to submit this process to public information before its final proposal. Representatives from the Ministry and other public entities have been travelling around the country, presenting the regulation in person and virtually throughout 2021 and 2022. A public information process was also opened, culminating in this new regulation approved in February.
This organisation plans to implement an indicator to evaluate the recent regulation for the pig sector utilising surveys in the second quarter of 2023 and subsequently annually.
Secondly, there is the preliminary draft standard for the emission of pollutants in fishmeal and fish oil plants and fish feed plants, which, depending on their odours, generate nuisance and constitute a risk to the population's quality of life. Once again, 82 actions have been carried out, including numerous dissemination events, such as this video (in Spanish)published a couple of months ago. The draft is available for consultation here.
Thirdly, the Ministry is already working on the third odour impact regulation, this time for pulp and paper mills, according to the schedule set by the Ministry of Environment several years ago.
Fourthly, the Environmental Assessment Service of this country, which by the way does not come under the Ministry, is carrying out an odour modelling guide based on the recent International Handbook on Odour Exposure Assessment by Dispersion Modelling. This guide is expected to be published by 2023.
The Ministry is also working on a future Odour Ordinance for Municipalities so that populations affected by odour impacts have a guide to regulate this impact and, who knows, to manage their territory in a more sustainable way and with less impact on air quality.
Finally, this organisation is currently revising its Odour Strategy after the 2014-2017 editions. and the subsequent implementation. discussed in detail in this presentation by Daniela Caimanque.
The Ministry is organising a Seminar on odour management for the second half of this year in Santiago to showcase these and other advances that are being made.
No country in the world is so actively tackling odour impacts. The exception would perhaps be Germany, with the recent approval of its new Air Quality Act, which affects all activities potentially generating odour impacts.
In any case, the Chilean process, which started 11 years ago, effectively addresses odour impacts.
- * In Chile alone, fishmeal and fish oil plants affect more than 150,000 people.
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