Logan City Council is conducting an Australia-first trial using portable wireless technology to monitor air quality around wastewater treatment facilities.
The technology allows Council to react immediately to any elevated hydrogen sulphide odours.
It also triggers an alarm if pre-determined odour levels are exceeded.
The battery-powered device, which is not much bigger than the size of a mobile phone, has been monitoring air quality around Council’s Beenleigh Wastewater Treatment Plant at Eagleby since March this year.
The results from this monitoring have been used to assess the performance of the facility’s odour-treatment system and guide improvements to the management of odour around the site.
Previously, air quality around treatment plants was logged by devices that were downloaded manually after a set period of time or by analysing air samples taken by staff, which could take several days.
The new technology allows Council to quickly pre-empt any possible odour concerns raised by residents.
The data can be used in conjunction with wind and weather data to locate the source of any detected odour.
The trial is being conducted in conjunction with Queensland-based gas monitoring company Acrulog.
Council approached Acrulog seeking better solutions to odour issues and were asked by the company to be the first in Australia to trial the new technology.
Results of the trial will be reviewed in coming months before a decision is made on whether to install devices at other Council waste treatment facilities.
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