JISCMail - OCC-HEALTH Archives

Thanks Chris and Diane – some useful links there.

And Chris – although I wasn’t sure, you have confirmed my suspicion that we do become ‘immune’ to smells.

This was a request for screening, but I still don’t know whether it was to check for anosmia following chemical exposure, or to confirm the ability to detect a smell indicative of a hazard. I am assuming the latter!

Thanks to everyone who replied

Cathy

Cathy Howells RGN BSc(Hons) SCPHN(OH)

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From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chris Packham
Sent: 19 July 2012 06:47
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [OCC-HEALTH] olfactory testing

I would be very cautious on relying upon any person’s sense of smell as a reliable detection medium. I well remember some years ago visiting the packing department of a well-known company manufacturing cough sweets. On entering the workplace the smell was overpowering and my eyes quickly began to stream with tears. However, within a few minutes this had stopped and the smell had virtually disappeared as far as I was concerned. It is called olfactory saturation. On leaving the plant, however, there was a very pronounced smell of pollution that I had not noticed before! Again, this disappeared after a few minutes.

With some substances the human nose can detect the odour at levels well below the hazard threshold, but once the threshold has been arrived at the human nose cannot detect the smell any more.

Furthermore, how do you allow for someone who has tested normally should they develop a cold and effectively lose their sense of smell?

There are devices on the market to detect the smell of a particular chemical. (Think of the breathalyser). They are used, for example, in the perfume industry as they produce consistent results, something that most humans are unable to do.

Chris Packham

FRSPH, FIIRSM, FInstSMM, MCMI, MBICSc

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