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Profile
PRA Odournet BV was founded February 1st, 1989, as Project Research
Amsterdam BV, as a continuation of the private consultancy activity
that Ton van Harreveld had conducted since 1980. From its inception
the company was focussed on odour related consultancy and the
development of research tools for odour impact assessment.
Frans Vossen took on the consultancy activities, while Ton van
Harreveld focussed on the development of the olfaktomat olfactometer
in those early years. The company experienced a fast growth,
employing 10-15 specialists by 1993. It soon established a permanent
odour laboratory, strongly promoting accreditation and started
to provide olfactometer instruments internationally.
Over the years, PRA gained a solid reputation in the Netherlands,
through close involvement with standardisation of methods (NVN2820
for olfactometry) and policy development for Dutch national
and regional regulators. Some examples of recent projects that
were directly relevant for policy are:
- Convenorship of the standardisation working group CEN/TC264
WG 2 Odours within the Commité Européen de Normalisation.
Between 1991 and April 2003 the final version of what is now
the accepted European standard for olfactometry took shape:
EN 13725:2003 'Air quality - Determination of odour concentration
by dynamic olfactometry'.
- A major study into methods for characterising offensiveness
was conducted funded by the Dutch government, titled 'Feasibility
of a standardised method for assessing odour annoyance potential',
jointly with Witteveen & Bos, managed by NOVEM, 1998.
- The Dutch Ministry of Housing, public Planning and the Environment
commissioned a large scale dose-effect study for the livestock
sector, reported in 'Odour annoyance survey around intensive
livestock housing', March 2001.
The main focus was and remains consultancy to its wide range
of clients in industry and agriculture, with the aim of achieving
a sustainable balance between the commercial interests of business
and the quality of life of their close neighbours. Frans Vossen
continues to lead the consultancy group and now has a unique
range of experience in assisting clients to resolve regulatory
odour issues.
PRA was renamed PRA Odournet BV in 2001 to reflect its membership
of the Odournet group of companies that grew from its activities.
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