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Sensory analysis methods NAUKA
as a tool to evaluate
the odour nuisance
of ambient air

PART I.

Unpleasant smells occurring in the atmospheric air can be a warning about hazardous substances present in the
human environment and can have a great impact on his psychophysical condition. A numerous complaints of
people cause the identification techniques for specifying the characteristics of smell of polluted air and the meas-
urement of concentration of odors become a necessity. Measurement of concentration of the compounds in the
odorous mixture can be performed using sensory analysis methods.
The sensory analysis methods are the one of main tools used to measure the human response to impulsions from
the surrounding environment. The relationship between the physical measure of the impulsion and the reaction of
senses is described by psychophysical laws. Using sense of smell human receives information which is constantly
delivered to the brain from the external environment and the inside of the body. Over the years there have been
many theories about the identification of the chemical impulsions using the olfactory organ. In this paper the
most important hypotheses concerning the principal of working of the sense of smell was presented as a tool to
determine the degree of air pollution.
Key words: air pollution, sensory analysis, odor nuisance, psychophysical laws

ANALITYKA – NUMER 4, ROK (XVI) 2015 9