Offensive odoursand your health

Offensive odours outdoors can come from many different sources. These include:

sewage treatment plants
abattoirs
landfills
composting facilities. This is a business that processes compost.

Odour complaints in Victoria

Source: EPA Victoria odour reports Note: Figure shows the percentage of all odour complaints from April to June 2019. Actual number of complaints are in brackets.

Source: EPA Victoria odour reports Note: Percentage of all odour complaints from April to June 2019.

The effect on your health

Health effects from offensive odours depend on the type of chemicals that make up the odour, and the amount in the air. Usually odour pollution does not cause long-term health effects, but can result in headaches and nausea, as well as significant discomfort and stress.

What you can do about odour

Controlling odour at the source of the problem is the most important way to reduce health effects. This means reporting odours from businesses, industry and agriculture to EPA.