Technical Bulletin No. 0054: Fundamentals of Odor Perception – Their Applicability to Air Pollution Control Programs (AQTB)

The attached Technical Bulletin was prepared by Dr. A. Dravnieks, Director of the Odor Science Center at IIT Research Institute, and served as the basis for a paper presented by Dr. Dravnieks at the Tappi Water and Air Division Conference in April 1971. The report covers in concise fashion the principal aspects of odor characterization in terms of human response. Its treatment of such odor characteristics as intensity, detectability, threshold level determination, acceptability and identification is fundamental to the organization of programs for the use of humans for characterizing odor pollution potential of process emissions. The report provided a basis for the interpretation of odor panel findings derived from comparison of pre- and post-control process emission odor levels. Its information on the relation between chemical composition and concentration, and odor level for a number of odorous sulfur compounds is particularly valuable in this respect. The extensive bibliography included in this report should prove useful to those endeavoring to deepen their understanding of the fundamentals of this aspect of the atmospheric pollution problem. The report is generally optimistic regarding the possible use of human odor panels with minimal training, yet balanced in demographic composition, for evaluation of process emission control programs. The National Council is continuing to conduct studies in this area, with a report now in preparation covering initial mill-site studies using human observer panels.