We were having trouble finding anybody that would want to help and the costs were astronomical. Like we were getting quotes in the $250k range for the tests and the study.
And even if we did that we'd have to prove that the poor air quality was coming from the plant, which you can't do unless you setup monitoring in their property, which they'd never allow.
The company has a history of violations, but were somehow allowed to expand during COVID. That's when we started smelling it even though they were around for decades. They had air scrubbers before, but I haven't seen any new ones on their roof since the expansion, so all that new stuff from the new building must be just venting out.
I feel horrible for the people that have to work inside. They're all foreigners that don't speak English. It doesn't seem like any of them are given breathing protection either. They're all getting taken advantage of.
If there's a terrible smell, it should be detected by a $100 off-the-shelf TVOC air quality meter, the type that can detect perfumes. Have you tried one?
If you know which specific gases may be present in the plant exhaust, there may be an existing low-cost (~$50) sensor [1] which can be assembled in a custom DIY air quality monitoring circuit like AirGradient (who post on HN). There are consumer particle counters (0.5 micron) for about $300, which have a serial port for continuous data logging.
> setup monitoring in their property, which they'd never allow
Once there's a low-cost (sub $500) continuous air quality data recording device, then 4 of those devices in different directions from the plant, along with local wind data, could show a pattern over an extended period of time. In theory, wind-borne flying objects like kites and drones could also collect data on air quality indexed by GPS location.
And even if we did that we'd have to prove that the poor air quality was coming from the plant, which you can't do unless you setup monitoring in their property, which they'd never allow.
The company has a history of violations, but were somehow allowed to expand during COVID. That's when we started smelling it even though they were around for decades. They had air scrubbers before, but I haven't seen any new ones on their roof since the expansion, so all that new stuff from the new building must be just venting out.
I feel horrible for the people that have to work inside. They're all foreigners that don't speak English. It doesn't seem like any of them are given breathing protection either. They're all getting taken advantage of.