Recently, the residents of the Zech district of Lindau have been piling up complaints about recurring odor nuisances.
According to local residents, the unbearable odor would not be the same every day. But who is responsible? The residents suspect that a company across the border in Vorarlberg could be to blame.
Local residents seem to know which way the wind is blowing
The only thing that seems clear is that it probably depends on the wind and weather. “The stench is difficult to describe,” Max Strauss told the Schwäbische Zeitung. Max Strauss is a city councilor for the Bunte Liste and lives in Zech himself. The stench would have occupied him for several years.
The troubled resident tries to find the right words to describe the smell. “There is no term that would describe him well. The word ‘rotten’ is the most appropriate,” says Zech. His neighbor Jochen Hund also knows the smell only too well. “Most like rotten starch,” he says to the German news portal.
Vorarlberg company should be to blame
According to the local residents, Hund und Strauss, only the company Rupp Food in Hörbranz can be the trigger. Because it produces animal feed about 500 meters away as the crow flies. When asked about managing director Christoph Rupp, he confirmed that they had often been in contact with local residents dogs and ostriches. The competent authority, the district authority of Bregenz, was also involved.
The company Rupp Food Austria in Hörbranz
©wru
“It never smells rotten, rotten or fermented”
“First of all, I would like to state that we have never ‘grilled old cats’ for our pet food,” says managing director Christoph Rupp when asked by VOL.AT, venting his displeasure with the comparison chosen. “We make food for pets, so you can’t call it rotten or fermented,” he continues. In the worst case, it smells like dry food, but it never smells rotten, rotten or fermented. “I think it’s a shame that the two gentlemen chose this ‘public’ path, despite good contacts,” said Rupp, disappointed.
Contact to BH Bregenz and external specialist institutes
“We are always in very good contact with our neighbors and are also interested in not disturbing anyone as much as possible,” the managing director told VOL.AT. This is a difficult story when it comes to smell, as it is felt very subjectively. “But there are institutes, such as the Braunschweig Environmental Institute, that have taken several measurements of the exhaust air at our facility,” explains Rupp. Several specially trained test persons would be used, who smell air samples in an odorless room and evaluate them. Taking into account the old exhaust air system and the weather data, a dispersion calculation was made that would indicate the frequency of perception for the company’s surroundings. “In advance, we sought contact with the Bregenz district authority and external specialist institutes. This contact resulted in the corresponding specifications, which we more than comply with and are regularly checked by independent experts.” In these measurements, the permitted maximum values were far from being reached.
“Our doors are always open”
In addition, ongoing investments would be made in improving the air washer, in new technologies (cold plasma) and in a new exhaust air system with higher chimneys and improved exhaust speed. “We are still interested in improving neighborly relations. Our doors are always open. Compliance with the specified limit values is mandatory anyway,” concludes Christoph Rupp.
Reasonable level of odor emission
The district administration, as the responsible authority, has prescribed air hygiene requirements for the Rupp Food company, which are also monitored. “The authorities keep receiving information from the population in the region,” said the Vorarlberg state press office when asked by VOL.AT. The complaints had been examined, and an official air hygiene expert had been consulted. According to the district administration, this came in his statement the result that the odor emissions are limited to a reasonable level.
It remains to be seen whether the “thick air” that is currently between the affected residents and the company will disappear in the future.
