System Development to Select Environmental Odour Nuisance Panel Members

Abstract

Ambient air quality is an important factor in the lives of humans and other living entities. Environmental odour is one of the impacts that occur due to changes in air quality. Odours can change people's perception of environmental conditions and, to a certain extent, will cause adverse environmental problems. In Indonesia, regulations related to the standard level of odour are recorded in KepMen LH No. 50 of 1996 and PP No. 22 of 2021. The level of odour can be determined by the panel method with a minimum of 8 people. Regulations related to measuring the level of odour with the panel method in Indonesia are still minimal and need to be developed further. 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. Recruitment of prospective panel members was conducted with a total of 32 people, consisting of 18 women and 14 men. Gender and age had no significant effect on 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 results of the assessment of each candidate panel member were compared with the results of the NH₃ and H₂S detector readings. The consistency of the panellists' assessment was seen 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%); schema 5 (100%).