System development to select environmental odour nuisance panel members

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, IPB University, 16680 Bogor, Indonesia
² Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, IPB University, 16680 Bogor, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: cameliaputri@apps.ipb.ac.id

Abstract

Environmental odour is one of the impacts that occur due to changes in air quality. Regulations related to measuring the level of odour with the panel method in Indonesia are still minimal and need further development. The research aims to design a selection system for members of the environmental odour panel. Measurement of the level of odour with the panel method uses hedonism scale instruments as assessment tools. Prospective panel members were recruited with 32 people, consisting of 18 women and 14 men. Gender and age did not significantlt affect the hedonic scale assessment of odour. Panelist selection was conducted by providing 5 odour stimuli using Olfacto-Screen for 3 repetitions in a wind speed of 1 m/sec. The assessment results of each candidate panel member were compared with the results of the NH3 and H2S detector readings. The panellists’ assessment was consistent based on the correlation coefficient between the odour-hedonic scale and the detector, which was R² > 0.75. There were 5 panel members passing scenarios with consecutive passing percentages, i.e. schema 1 (41%); schema 2 (72%); schema 3 (94%); schema 4 (100%); and schema 5 (100%).