Pilsworth South Landfill Site

We know that many residents are continuing to experience the unpleasant effects of odour pollution from Pilsworth Landfill site. We understand that unpleasant strong smells can impact on wellbeing, so we would like to explain more about what we know about the effects of odour on health, and what we can do to provide you with further information about this going forward.

Bury and Rochdale Councils have worked with the UK Health Security Agency and the Environment Agency to produce this briefing.

The Environmental Permits issued by the Environment Agency include conditions that require the operator of the site to ensure they protect the environment and human health. In the case of odour pollution, the operator of the permitted site is required to take steps to “prevent or where that is not possible, to minimise odour to a level that is not likely to cause pollution, as perceived by an Environment Agency officer.

Sites that have the potential to cause odour are required to use appropriate infrastructure, management techniques and abatement equipment to tackle the odour pollution. As the regulator, it is the Environment Agency’s role to robustly challenge the operators of these sites to ensure their systems are fit for purpose and operate effectively. Where sites are not doing this and we are made aware of odour reports, the Environment Agency will provide advice and guidance, use their enforcement powers or in serious cases, prosecute the operator of the site.

The odour pollution from landfill sites falls into two broad categories.

The first is the waste odour, which is caused by fresh waste rapidly decomposing and tends to come from vehicles travelling to and from the site and whilst it is tipped. This is similar to the odours that are contained within a domestic bin. It poses little risk to human health and can be tackled by depositing the waste quickly and covering it with soils called “daily cover”.

The second type of odour is landfill gas. This is gas generated by the breakdown of the waste inside the body of the landfill site. Landfill gas is mostly methane and carbon dioxide, which are odourless and colourless. However, landfill gas also contains trace components such as hydrogen sulphide that, even in very small quantities, has a strong smell of rotten eggs, which the human body is very sensitive to. Although the smell caused by the trace levels of hydrogen sulphide gas can be strong and unpleasant, it does not automatically mean that it is harmful. Our sense of smell is very sensitive and we can smell hydrogen sulphide at very low levels.

The human nose is very sensitive. Many things have a strong smell at levels at which there are no direct harmful effects to health. However, strong smells are unpleasant and can impact on wellbeing leading to stress and anxiety. Some people may also experience symptoms, such as nausea, headaches or dizziness as a reaction to strong smells, even when the substances that cause those smells are themselves not harmful to health.

Following exposure to any substance, the adverse health effects depend on several factors, including the amount to which you are exposed (dose), the way in which you are exposed, the duration of exposure, the form of the chemical and if you were exposed to any other chemicals. The first noticeable effect of hydrogen sulphide at very low concentrations is its unpleasant odour, which may cause discomfort and some short-term health effects. At higher concentrations, it may cause eye, nose and throat irritation. It may also disturb sleep if experienced at night at low levels.

If you are concerned about your symptoms contact your GP or call NHS 111.

People can close doors and windows whilst the smell is present and then open them to vent the smell from the premises when the smell has cleared.

Short-term transient health effects may be experienced such as irritation to the eyes, nose and throat. People who have health conditions that affect breathing, such as asthma, may experience increased frequency and/or severity of symptoms.

With continuing exposure, these effects may be prolonged but are not anticipated to continue long-term once exposure is reduced.

To limit the effects of the odour as much as possible, we would advise:

• Close windows if there is an outdoor odour and open them once any outdoor odour has reduced.
• You could consider closing windows at night and opening them in the morning in the absence of odour.
• Ventilate your property when there is no odour outdoors.
• Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you have concerns about your individual circumstances and require health advice.

In the case of individual sites, the Environment Agency carefully monitors the performance of a landfill site using a wide range of parameters including groundwater, surface water and air monitoring, pollution reports, the operator’s own monitoring and even aerial photography. We use all these parameters to determine the performance of the site and if we have concerns, we require the operator of the site to take steps to resolve them, promptly.

If the operator of the permitted site does not respond to our concerns, we can carry out our own check monitoring and use a range of enforcement notices to force the operator of the site to take action.