Chester County Conservation District sponsors odor reduction tour.

The Chester County Conservation District (CCCD) sponsored an odor reduction tour this summer to review the progress of a grant obtained through the efforts of PA Rep. Art Hershey (R-Chester). More than 30 people attended, including mushroom growers and composters, municipal officials, state representatives and other interested individuals.

Overview

The tour began at New Garden Township Park, Avondale, PA. Dan Greig, district manager of the CCCD, gave an overview of the grant earmarked for new technologies to help reduce odors caused by composting in southeastern Chester County. He described the work that has been done to date. Several legislators including Rep. Hershey and Rep. Chris Ross (R-Chester) spoke briefly about the importance of doing such research. Dr. Ken Lomax, University of Delaware, and Dr. John Pecchia, Penn State, demonstrated a new product, the Nasal Ranger, to assess odor levels. The device was developed as a way to gauge the parts per million of odor causing particles in the air.

After the overview session, attendees boarded a bus to start the tour. En route, Chris Strohmaier, CCCD Assistant District Manager, discussed the odor assessments that were done in conjunction with the grant. He used a map to show concentric rings and distances between compost operations in the area. Many of the operations' rings are overlapping, marking areas where there may be multiple odor sources, which may cause major odor impact in southern Chester County.

Hy-Tech Mushroom Compost Tour

Jack Arrell, general manager of Hy-Tech Mushroom Compost, described the facility, the equipment and the research project. Dr. Lomax discussed the properties of odor, the study of odor causing compounds and the testing that is currently being done by Microanalytics in relation to the filter box at Hy-Tech and other work that the company does. The research showed a reduction of odor compounds from the straw filter (see sidebar). Adding ozone to the system further reduced the odor compounds.

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Laurel Valley Farms Tour

Glenn Cote, general manager of Laurel Valley Farms, welcomed the group and introduced the Penn State research team including Dr. David Beyer, Dr. Paul Heinemann and Tom Richard. They were involved in the design, installation and research using the biofilter. The study was done on site and at the Penn State Mushroom Test Demonstration facility in University Park, PA. Dr. Beyer designed the biofilter using a steel container filled with spent mushroom substrate/mushroom compost. Tests were run to assess the impact of the biofilter and showed that the SMS was too dense for air to be forced through the filter. The addition of wood chips improved the medium. The Penn State research also led to a reduction in odor causing compounds.

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A discussion session followed the presentations at each farm. When the tour was over, Tom Brosius, CCCD Chairman, thanked the attendees on behalf of the CCCD Board. A full report of the odor grant findings will be available next year.

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