Short answer. Not without observing the distances set by local regulations and customs, and making the necessary protective works. Article 678 covers stables, furnaces, forges, sewers, depositories of corrosive substances, machinery and factories that are dangerous or noxious — and says these prohibitions cannot be altered or renounced by stipulation between the adjoining owners.
What the law says
These prohibitions cannot be altered or renounced by stipulation on the part of the adjoining proprietors. In the absence of regulations, such precautions shall be taken as may be considered necessary, in order to avoid any damage to the neighboring lands or tenements.
Civil Code, Article 678 — Dangerous Or Noxious Works. Read the full provision →
Two requirements, and both must be met
The article imposes distance and protection together. Observing the setback prescribed by the regulations and customs of the place is not enough if the necessary protective works are absent, and elaborate protective works do not excuse building too close. The list of installations is broad — aqueduct, well, sewer, furnace, forge, chimney, stable, depository of corrosive substances, machinery, or factory — and it is not exhaustive of the idea behind it, which is any work dangerous or noxious by reason of its nature or its products.
The consent you may have given does not bind
This is the most useful sentence in the article for a neighbour who agreed to something and now regrets it. The prohibitions cannot be altered or renounced by stipulation between adjoining proprietors, so a waiver signed years ago, a clause in a deed, or a neighbourly understanding does not authorise a hazardous installation at an unlawful distance. The reason is that these rules protect safety and health rather than a private interest one owner may trade away, and the person harmed later may not be the one who agreed.
When the local rules are silent
The article does not leave a gap. Absent regulations, such precautions shall be taken as may be considered necessary to avoid damage to neighbouring land — a standard measured by the actual hazard rather than by a table of distances. What that requires depends on the installation: ventilation and waste handling for animal housing, containment and bunding for corrosive stores, shielding and clearance for a furnace or forge. The absence of an ordinance is therefore not a defence, and an owner who did nothing because nothing was prescribed has still failed the article.
Start with the local rules and the permits
The applicable distances come from the ordinances and customs of your own locality, so those are what to obtain, together with whatever permits or clearances the installation required — a project built without them is usually addressable through the issuing office long before any court is involved. Record the harm concretely: odour, smoke, noise, effluent, dates and times, with photographs and any measurements available. Where the nuisance is ongoing, a dated log kept over weeks is worth more than a strongly worded account of a single bad day.