On-site inspections for malodor problem in the stricken area of the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

The Great East Japan Earthquake, occurred on March 11, 2001, brought a great deal of damages to the vast coastal area through tsunamis which were generated right after earthquake. The tidal waves also caused a large-scale and intense malodor in some regions because a huge amount of seafood having been stored in fishing ports were scattered extensively. This report summarized results of simplified odor measurements which were conducted in several times of the authors’ on-site inspections. A wide variety of malodor sources are still untouched throughout the stricken area, and several practical measures for malodor mitigation were proposed against each type of major malodor sources in this report.