Odour and Noise Causes of Conflict

Sven Nimmermark, researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), aims to find out. He is running a project within programme Built Environment.

Questionnaire Survey
A questionnaire will be sent to a number of municipalities in Sweden and to people living in the areas. The municipalities are asked to tell the number of complaints about odour and noise they receive, the kind of discomfort people experience and what activities causing the problems.

Randomly selected people will be asked to fill in another questionnaire sent to them. They are asked questions about themselves such as sex, age and problems of odour and noise, for example how often they react to odours or noises in their home environment and the degree of discomfort they experience.

People will also be asked questions about their well-being, for instance if they experience sickness or sleeping problems, symptoms that may be indicators of stress. This approach of mapping “diffuse” health problems is new. The Swedish legislation today is focused on risks of hearing impairment and acute symptoms of inhaling substances, rather than on long-term effects caused by stress.

Better basis for future planning
The results of the questionnaire survey will be published during spring 2011. Hopefully, the study will provide a better basis for the planning and approval of building license applications.

“Studies in the USA show that tree plantations and green spaces reduce both sound and smell from animal factories. Vegetation precipitates particles in the air that have odorant molecules bound to them, and the plants take up some of the substances,” says Sven Nimmermark.