Use of sensory and analytical methods in hygienic assessment of odour in atmospheric air (literature review)

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Abstract

Odours that affect humans are still not regulated by generally accepted standards, which makes their quantitative measurement difficult due to the peculiarities of perception. This highlights the need for research aimed at developing universal criteria for assessing odours present in the atmospheric air. The purpose of the work is to generalize and analyze the approaches available in world practice used to assess odours in the environment. The search of literature sources was carried out using the databases Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Researchgate, RSCI, elibrary and Google scholar for 1999–2024.According to the analysis, various approaches to the assessment of ambient air pollution by odorous substances can be divided into three main categories: community engagement, sensory methods, and laboratory chemical analysis. At the same time, no single approach can currently fully solve the problem of measuring and assessing odour in the atmosphere. Sensory methods (odour profiling, field studies, field olfactometry) which reflect real human exposure can lead to inconsistent results due to the significant dependence on the individual perception of the researcher. Chemical analysis methods (such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry), have greater certainty due to their objectivity, but do not reflect human perception and it is not always possible to associate the identified chemical composition with odour, as well as to take into account the contribution of individual priority odourants. Today, there is an clear need to develop a standard for monitoring odours in atmospheric air, combining all available methods.Conclusion. Further refinement of measurement tools and the development of a standard approach combining community participation, sensory, and analytical methods should eventually lead to scientifically based quantitative criteria for odour assessment, including established regulations for its content and control in ambient air to minimize harmful impacts in the area of source enterprises.Contribution: Budarina O.V. – concept and design of the study, writing the text, editing the article; Skovronskaya S.A. – collection and processing of the material, editing the article; Goshin M.E. – collection and processing of the material, editing the article; Sabirova Z.F. – editing the article. All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final versionConflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of the state task No. 1023032300263-5-3.3.5.Received: February 7, 2025 / Revised:  February 25, 2025 / Accepted: April 8, 2025 / Published: June 27, 2025

About the authors

Olga V. Budarina

Federal Scientific Center of Hygiene named after F.F. Erisman

Email: budarina.ov@fncg.ru

Svetlana A. Skovronskaya

Federal Scientific Center of Hygiene named after F.F. Erisman

Email: sko_sveta@mail.ru

Mikhail E. Goshin

Federal Scientific Center of Hygiene named after F.F. Erisman

Email: Goshin.ME@fncg.ru

Zulfiya F. Sabirova

Centre for Strategic Planning of the Federal medical and biological agency

Email: ZSabirova@cspmz.ru

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