NOSE - Network for Odour Sensitivity
The NOSE project started in 2019 from the collaboration between ARPA Sicilia (the Regional Environmental Protection Agency) and the National Research Council – Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Science (CNR-ISAC) to support the management of environmental problems related to odour pollution in Sicily. The project is implemented in proximity of Areas at High Risk of Environmental Crisis (AERCA), whereby the olfactory disturbances caused by productive activities are a continuous source of discomfort for the local population. Through the use of the NOSE web-app, this citizen science project allows citizens to report odour pollution in real time, in an anonymous and geo-referenced manner. When the reports exceed a defined critical threshold, the air sampling activity for the chemical and olfactometric characterization is triggered and performed through the use of canisters, both manually and through automatic samplers activated directly by the web-app. The goal is to understand, through modeling methodologies (back-trajectories), the causes responsible for the odor pollution reported by citizens. Thus, the active participation of local residents in reporting odour pollution is essential to generate "retro-trajectories" aimed at identifying the backward path performed by the masses of odorous air and estimate the source-receptor relationship.
Aim
The NOSE project aims to:
- make the citizens aware of the dynamics of dispersion of pollutants that generate odour pollution;
- support the agency's monitoring and control activities;
- assist in the protection and safeguarding policies of both the environment and the resident population.
How to participate
The NOSE project actively involves citizens through the collection of anonymous reports concerning odour pollution in the area covered by the project. Through the web app, citizens can send reports of odours within a specific area in near real time, at the same time reporting intensity, quality, illness and perception.
The portal allows to freely download the web-app and it is accessible at the link: https://nose-cnr.arpa.sicilia.it/
Needed equipment
Any kind of device (mobile phone, tablet, pc)
Active
from 01/09/2019
Keywords
Science Topics
Tags
Participation tasks
Coordinator
National Research Council - I…
Governmental
Other Organisations involved
ARPA Sicilia
Governmental
Location
Participants send reports from any place they are when they are disturbed by odour pollution, for example from home, while on the move and in any other condition in which their device (phone, tablet, PC) can be used.