NJ DEP "Breath Easy" Pollution Data
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NJ DEP Division of Air Quality Pollutants WebpageVisit this NJ DEP webpage to learn more about different chemical pollutants.
Search for pollutant type by smell characteristic.
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Odor SearchA database of chemical compounds that are searchable by smells such as "bready", "popcorn", or "tar" from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Environmental Odor FAQ
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FAQ Environmental Odors - ATSDRAnswers to some of the most frequent questions asked about environmental odors such as: "What are environmental odors?", "Where do environmental odors come from?", and "Can environmental odors make me sick?".
Community Member Assessment of Environmental Odors - ATSDR
Do you smell bad environmental odors in your community? How often? Every day or just once in a while?
Do they annoy you or make you feel sick?
How can you know how much environmental odor is too much and when an odor becomes a health hazard?
Everyone reacts to environmental odors differently. Some people are more sensitive to environmental odors than others. When you are more sensitive to an odor, you may have symptoms even at a low level of the odor in air. In general, as concentration levels increase, more people will have symptoms. If an environmental odor is affecting your daily life, you can get help. Your local health department or code enforcement agency1 can investigate odors and decide whether they are harmful. You can help them by keeping an odor diary.
Sign up for a free online community health workshop. View the workshop recording below:
Instructors: Dr. Jennifer Kitson and Dr. Zachary Christman’s Workshop
Kitson: Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Sustainability, + Art @ Rowan University
Christman: Chair of the Department of Geography, Planning and Sustainability @ Rowan University
58:38 video duration, 51-slide long slideshow
Description
This workshop explored how unpleasant environmental odors affect health and quality of life, with a focus on the Waterfront South neighborhood in Camden, NJ. Residents shared how persistent odors have impacted their daily routines and well-being.
Key Takeaways
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Health and Quality of Life: While some harmful odors are undetectable, noticeable environmental odors can cause or worsen health issues, disrupt daily life, and reduce overall well-being.
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Local Impact: Despite being under one square mile, Camden’s Waterfront South hosts numerous odor-producing sites—including a sewage treatment plant, major highway, and incinerator—contributing to poor air quality and reported health concerns.
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Action Steps:
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Report environmental issues to NJDEP at 1-877-WARN-DEP.
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Track odors using the “FIDO” method and maintain an odor diary (noting Frequency, Intensity, Duration, and Offensiveness) to document and support complaintd.
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Odor Pollution
These are unwanted odors that can exist in our environments from several sources including:
- Industry: oil refineries, landfills, incinerators, wastewater treatment plants, paper mills, dry cleaners, port activity, melting smelting and scrap yards
- Nature: fires, moist soil, stagnant ponds
- Vehicles: diesel exhaust and other types of exhaust
- Animals: Confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’S), manure
Photograph credit: Fred R. Conrad/The Guardian
Researchers and government officials are beginning to use tools called Olfactometers to more accurately measure odors in communities.
One example olfactometer is the "Nasalranger" displayed in the image to right.
Olfactometers are used in conjunction with your nose to scientifically measure how intense an odor in a standardized way.
Environmental justice communities such as Camden, NJ are frequently home to a variety of industrial sources of smells that can sometimes interfere with individuals health or wellbeing.
While not all industrial odors are immediately harmful to your lungs or organs, there can be psychological or social effects from even non-toxic odors.
The figure above is from a recent study that measured odor pollution in the Waterfront South Neighborhood in Camden, NJ.
Figure 3. Example of odor data collected at each randomly selected sampling site in the Waterfront South neighborhood in Camden, NJ.
Link to the full study: Kitson J, Leiva M, Christman Z, Dalton P. Evaluating Urban Odor with Field Olfactometry in Camden, NJ. Urban Science. 2019 Sep;3(3):93. https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/3/3/93/pdf
Are all Environmental Odors Toxic?
Developed resources reported in this project are supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greening Camden project, Rowan Green Jobs Academy, and TD Bank. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.
