Rank: New forum user 
|
I have a challenging problem in a retail work environment, a sewage smell. This is an ongoing issue for personnel working in a high street retail outlet. There is a constant sewage type smell sometimes strong sometimes mild and it has become somewhat of an onerous task to track down the source of the smell with various landlords and letting agents and public agencies involved.
Air sampling has been carried out and the report shows level of oxygen to be within normal range for ambient air, hydrogen sulphide not detected in any indoor air samples and only low levels of CO and VOCs. Therefore in short the report concludes the air quality would not constitute as health risk. This however does not allow for the unpleasant (very at times) atmosphere that employees are working in and the occassional complaints of dry skin, sore eyes and feeling nauseous. Has anyone previous experience of this type of problem and any plausible solutions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
I hate smells. I am sitting in my office, day dreaming, and someone comes along and says there is a terrible smell somewhere and what am I going to do about it. What then happens is I go over and the smell has gone (80% of the time) and I get told it was bad etc. etc. and how can I stop it occurring again. I shrug my shoulders and mutter something like yes I’ll do my best before returning to my daydreaming. Or there is a smell and it’s still there but there is no obvious source. So I get people to check all of the drains, in particular any that have been left to dry out and then have been used again. I work in labs so I check to see what everybody else is doing. The other week I had a complaint from some chemists (naturally smelly I would have thought) complaining about archaeologists burning bones. The overwhelming smell of fresh carpet adhesive is another one (in an office of course). It was not harmful but unpleasant and distracting like a lot of these smells. The worst is the mysterious smell coming in through the air conditioning system. This it turns out was the smell of good old manure being put on a field by the farmer next door. - Were any of these smells unpleasant: yes?
- Were any harmful: no?
- Was there anything I could do about them: no, not really?
- Was my intervention a bit pointless: yes but it gave the good employees someone to vent their annoyance on?
- Did it ruin my daydreaming: of course?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Forum user
|
Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel  What then happens is I go over and the smell has gone (80% of the time) and I get told it was bad etc. etc.
also known as a fart...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: New forum user
|
A Kurdziel, unfortunately this smell does not fall into the gone 80% of the time variety. It is there constantly and I might add Spacedinvader the personnel in this retail outlet are not overly flatulent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user 
|
I'm sure you have thought of this but most likely you may have a problem with your drains. You have mentioned a sewerage smell and that you have undertaken an air quality test, but have you actually checked/ surveyed your drains?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user 
|
Apparently perfume can have this effect when it gores through air conditioning. We have had this in some of our centres and there is a spray you can put into the air conitioning unit that resolves the problem. Worth a try!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Super forum user
|
Some things to consider based on my experiences of dealing with similar problems:
1. Are there any sinks or shower drains that are not used regularly and the traps have dried out allowing smells back into the area.
2. Is any fresh air intake close to a soil drain vent
3. Have found similar smell caused by a mouse dying inside a convection radiator and decomposing with the heat.
4. Have any carpets been wet and left to dry out which can cause the underlay or bottom of the carpet to stay damp and cause bacteria to multiply resulting in a smell.
Hope this helps
Take care
JohnC
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Forum user
|
Generally classed as nuisance rather than hazardous, check the traps are full though as suggested above
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank: Forum user
|
Set aside the science and COSHH, this is a good old-fashioned nuisance. Get a decent plumber in and look for a cracked drain or, as others suggest, a failed trap. But look under suspended floors and the like as well as just sniffing the air. Been there...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum.
You cannot reply to topics in this forum.
You cannot delete your posts in this forum.
You cannot edit your posts in this forum.
You cannot create polls in this forum.
You cannot vote in polls in this forum.