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Every year the council receives a number of complaints regarding air quality odour issues. All complaints are recorded and investigated in an attempt to identify the cause and prevent any further complaints.
The council has powers under the Environmental Protection Act to abate offensive odours that constitute a nuisance. These powers do not extend to large industrial processes such as Shell UK Ltd, Innospec and Kemira Grow How. These processes are governed by the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations which require operators to comply with "Best Available Techniques" to ensure odorous emissions are minimised. The Environment Agency regulate these sites.
The table below shows the number of complaints recorded in any given year and the likely source of the odour. Odours that could not be categorised or else were so few in numbers, have been recorded under the complaint type of miscellaneous. Miscellaneous also includes complaints made against commercial premises such as fast food takeaway's.
| Recorded Odour Complaints 1994-2006 | |||||||
| Number of complaints | |||||||
| Complaint Type | Industrial | Agricultural | Sewage Works | Misc. | Total | ||
| Year (1st Apr - 31 Mar) | |||||||
| 1994 - 95 | 117 | 9 | 3 | 42 | 171 | ||
| 1995 - 96 | 95 | 85 | 5 | 41 | 226 | ||
| 1996 - 97 | 72 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 118 | ||
| 1997 - 98 | 49 | 27 | 274 | 38 | 388 | ||
| 1998 - 99 | 62 | 12 | 335 | 47 | 456 | ||
| 1999 - 2000 | 30 | 13 | 39 | 21 | 103 | ||
| 2000 - 01 | 48 | 82 | 44 | 78 | 252 | ||
| 2001 - 02 | 43 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 85 | ||
| 2002 - 03 | 12 | 51 | 3 | 22 | 88 | ||
| 2003 - 04 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 43 | ||
| 2004 - 05 | 13 | 27 | 4 | 19 | 63 | ||
| 2005 - 06 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 40 | ||
| 2006 - 07 | 48 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 79 | ||
| 2007 - 08 | 23 | 9 | 1 | 19 | 52 | ||
| 2008 - June 08 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 15 | ||
The table shows that complaints were consistently high between 1994 and 2000 with 1997 and 1998 being the worst years due to problems with effluent at the Ellesmere Port sewage treatment works. Complaints relating to industry have declined steadily since 1994 but the figures show that agricultural activities such as muck spreading can result in significant numbers of complaints on occasion.
Commonly when the wind blows from the north or east, there is potential for industrial emissions from the Stanlow area to carry across parts of the town. Monitoring equipment confirms that levels of sulphur dioxide and other common emissions rise when the wind blows from these directions. Our monitoring equipment also tells us that the concentrations of these substances, though high enough to be detected by the nose, are well below the health criteria set by the governments health experts. In short, although from time to time you can smell emissions, they are not likely to be harmful to your health.
