Tokyo city officials on a mission to sniff out foul-smelling zones
Tokyo
EFFORTS to eliminate bad smells in shopping areas, entertainment districts and other parts of Tokyo are gaining steam as the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics approach.
Unpleasant smells are often from hydrogen sulfide generated in drainage pits installed underneath buildings.
In Kichijoji area in Musashino, Tokyo, local business owners and city officials have begun joint patrols trying to track down the buildings causing bad smells. The Tokyo metropolitan government is expanding a similar programme to areas around Olympic venues, tourist spots and other places, and plans to ask building owners to address the situation.
On May 23, about 30 local shop owners, officials from the Musashino city government and others split into six teams to patrol Kichijoji's downtown district. They carefully sniffed the air as they walked, and when they smelled something bad, they marked the spot on maps they carried.
Later, they planned to identify what was causing the smells, such as by measuring hydrogen sulfide levels, and ask building owners to take care of the problem.
Kichijoji has been ranked No 1 among places people want to live in the Tokyo metropolitan area. While it is known as a stylish and popular area, complaints about bad smells started afflicting the municipal government around 2000.
The Kichijoji Kasseika Kyogikai, an association of local shopkeepers and others, has in the past called on the city to get rid of the bad smells, which eventually led to the joint patrols that started in April.
Hydrogen sulfide is generated when material in waste water that is collected in drainage tanks underneath buildings decomposes. Restaurants, toilets and other facilities that are located underground are at a lower level than sewage pipes, so waste water cannot drain away naturally. This waste is therefore accumulated in drainage pits, sometimes called sump pits, and is regularly pumped out into the sewage system.
However, waste water starts to decompose if left to sit for a long time. Then, when it is discharged into sewer pipes, the hydrogen sulfide vaporises and escapes through manhole covers and other openings, causing sulfurous smells to waft above ground.
In fiscal 2009, the city government started subsidising construction costs for work such as installing machinery that circulates air to prevent waste water from decomposing. The subsidies can be used to cover half of the construction costs, up to 500,000 yen (S$6,268). By fiscal 2016, repairs for 15 locations at 11 buildings had been subsidised.
Before crowds of foreign tourists arrive for the Olympics, the Tokyo metropolitan government is trying to strengthen its policies for preventing smells caused by hydrogen sulfide.
In recent years, the metropolitan government has received about 1,000 complaints about bad smells annually. About 70 per cent to 80 per cent of them are thought to involve drainage pits underneath buildings. The metropolitan government is conducting a survey of 17 districts - seven of which are where many of the complaints have come from, including Shinbashi and Ikebukuro, as well as 10 tourists areas such as Asakusa and Akihabara - and plans to ask building owners and others involved to improve the situation.
"Having a city that doesn't smell is an important part of being hospitable to tourists. We want to create a comfortable city in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics," an official at the metropolitan government's Sewerage Bureau said. WP
