"haylow50" wrote in message
om...
my neighbour has a very smelly heap that gives off lots of gas ,which
wafts into my abode . what exactly are these gases and how noxious are
they ?

Mostly methane and sulphuretted hydrogen. Neither is particularly toxic in
the amounts you are likely to smell.
You release a fair amount of these yourself every time you fart.

Overall, it sounds as if your neighbour has a pretty good compost heap
going.
I suspect you will have to get used to it, because I am not aware of any
anti-smell laws which would be applicable.
The bright part is that ones olfactory organ ceases to notice it after a few
minutes of sniffing it.

any recomended safe limits on this ?

The bigger the compost heap, the better for the garden.

airborn germs and diseases that
could be breathed in by family?

Probably not, unless he is composting material which contain sources of
human diseases, which is highly unlikely..

long term harmfull effects ?

Probably not.
Actually, in time one gets to appreciate the smell of a compost heap.

Franz