Hazardous and odorous pollutants released from sewer manholes and stormwater catch basins in urban areas

To learn more about the emission characteristics of odorants released from sewer manholes and stormwater catch basins (SCBs) in an urban environment, we measured the emission concentrations of major odorants including 22 target compounds designated as offensive odorants by the Korean Ministry of Environment (KMOE). All of our measurements were made from urban sewer manholes and SCBs in a highly commercialized location in Seoul, Korea. The results of our study were analyzed to identify the major odorants from such sources and to assess their contribution to odor intensity. The malodor strengths at both types of underground sources were considerably higher in the afternoon than in the morning. The assessment of odor intensity (OI) and odor activity value (OAV) confirmed the dominance of key odorants like H₂S, CH₃SH, and ammonia along with various volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and phenol. The concentration of these major odorants (H₂S, CH₃SH, and NH₃) exceeded the maximum permissible limit given as the odor prevention law in Korea. As such, significantly high levels of odorants released from these underground sources were greatly distinguished from those seen at above ground locations.