[Explanation] In daily life, residents often report environmental pollution and odors in the air.

But many people don't know that identifying odors in the air is a professional job—often performed by "smell specialists."

The so-called "smell masters" are sniffers. They are a group of people who smell and identify odors with their noses, and they are also an important part of environmental monitoring and inspection of odors.

Recently, a reporter from Chinanews.com walked into the Environmental Sanitation Monitoring Institute of the Chengdu Institute of Urban Management Sciences to visit the daily work of the "smelling master".

  Chen Jiayu, who has been engaged in olfactory identification for more than ten years, is making preparations as usual.

She told reporters that the process of smell identification is a set of fixed procedures, and an analysis of odor concentration requires one judge and six smellers to complete the division of labor.

During the experiment, the odor needs to be diluted first, and then put into the air bag, usually diluted to 100 times to tens of thousands of times, and then smelled by 6 smellers.

  [Concurrent] Chen Jiayu, olfactory discriminator of the Environmental Sanitation Monitoring Institute of the Chengdu Urban Environmental Management Science Research Institute

  During monitoring, 6 olfactory discriminators are required, and each olfactory discriminator needs to identify which one of the three olfactory bags is odorous, and then finally obtain the value of the odor concentration through such experimental steps, and then based on this value. To determine whether the ambient air in this area has exceeded the standard.

  [Explanation] The reporter learned that it is not enough for a nose to be a sniffer, and he must pass special training and obtain a sniffer's qualification certificate.

In addition, the olfactory judges evaluate the odor, and draw conclusions based on professional data to form a report, and the report results have legal effect.

Chen Jiayu said that as an olfactory discriminator, to maintain a keen sense of smell, we must eliminate interference in our living habits.

  [Concurrent] Chen Jiayu, olfactory discriminator of the Environmental Sanitation Monitoring Institute of the Chengdu Urban Environmental Management Science Research Institute

  We must pay attention not to rub perfume, and some odorous skin care products, hand creams, etc., will affect our sense of smell and thus affect the experimental results.

Also can not eat spicy food, it will also affect the sense of smell.

  [Explanation] As the environmental governance in Chengdu is getting better and better, the frequency of Chen Jiayu's "smell odor" is also getting lower and lower, but the work of the sniffer must continue, because the current machinery and equipment cannot replace it.

  [Concurrent] Du Chengsong, Director of the Environmental Sanitation Monitoring Institute, Chengdu Research Institute of Urban Environmental Management

  We often go to places related to domestic waste disposal for sampling, such as domestic waste landfills, domestic waste disposal sites, and odors from domestic waste transfer stations.

The detection of odor concentration is still mainly based on human olfactory discrimination, and instruments are currently irreplaceable.

  Reported by reporter Lv Yang in Chengdu

Responsible editor: [Li Ji]