Social Impact of Odor Induced by Municipal Solid Waste Treatment Facilities in Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract

Landfills are mostly used to manage solid waste in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Due to inappropriate administration, there have been numerous issues over the years relating to odor and leachate. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of odor stemming from Da Phuoc landfill site on surrounding areas. A questionnaire survey was administered through face-to-face interviews with 409 residents living in the affected areas. The findings of this study indicate that the odor perception of residents significantly influences their attitudes towards waste disposal sites. The results show that odor affects not only the region around municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment facilities but regions more than 7 km away as well. The data indicates that the odor emanating from the MSW disposal site negatively affects the daily life of many residents. This study is an effort to finding a solution to reduce the impact of odor generated from the landfill site on nearby residential areas.

Impact of Odor from a Landfill Site on Surrounding Areas: A Case Study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

“…Nausea, shortness of breath, and feelings of unhappiness and depression were symptoms recorded in the population. Tran et al (2019) indicated that residents who live more than 5 km away from the MSW facility had severe odor annoyance from June to October and the period of time during which respondents perceived the worst odor is Figure 8. As shown in Figure 8, the majority of respondents perceived odor pollution during a period between 18:00-24:00, i.e., 6 pm to 12 am in the next day.…”

“…The first pattern is the high temperature in two separate seasons: the dry season between November and April, and the rainy season between May and October. The second pattern is the direction of the wind, which changes monthly: (i) from Jan to May in the South (S) or Southeast (SE) direction; (ii) from June to September in the West (W) or Southwest (SW) direction; (iii) from October to December in the Northeast (NE) direction (Tran et al, 2019). The windrose plot of the study area by each quarter for 2019 is shown in Figure 1.…”

“…Regions were classified as Areas 1, 2, and 3 based on odor reports provided by the environmental agency. The survey locations chosen were the same as a previous investigation (Tran et al, 2019) in order to provide consistent reporting and allow for comparative analysis. Area 1 is associated with a high exposure to odor, and it is located in a rural region.…”

“…In these studies, the levels of odor annoyance were not reported for longer distances. In Vietnam, however, a previous study indicated that areas surrounding Da Phuoc landfill in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) were under affected by odor levels, particularly in urban areas within 7 km from waste treatment facility (Tran et al, 2019). Therefore, the purpose of this research was to measure the odor concentration in affected areas in comparison with questionnaire survey results.…”