Detecting environmental pollution by ... nose

While America uses self-propelled vehicles to explore Mars, Japan uses robots to take care of the elderly, then China uses . human nose to detect pollutants in the air!

For years, the nose has been once a tool to distinguish fragrance in the cosmetics manufacturing industry. But now in China, trained nose also has the opportunity to test talents in the field of environmental protection and human health.

The trained nose will have the opportunity to test talents in the field of environmental protection and human health.(Photo: Typepad)

The environmental observation station in Panyu, Guangzhou City, is recruiting sensitive olfactory people to detect dangerous chemicals in the air and assess their concentration, in order to contribute to accurate assessment. More about air quality.

The station is currently a group of 11 ' professional nose ' trained by environmental pollution experts.

Speaking to the China Daily daily, deputy director of the station, Mr. Liu Jingcai said: 'The group has been trained in the skill of distinguishing odor from various sources of pollution. The team will help us perform our monitoring function well and bring more polluters to the law. '

'We can now distinguish hundreds of gases that can be harmful to human health' . Pollutants come from a variety of sources, which can be discharged by industrial enterprises, and may also arise from landfills or sewers.

Mr. Liu said the ' sniffers ' group is an essential addition to the station's scientific equipment to discover organizations and individuals that have polluted the environment, such as chemical companies, Rubber factory, waste treatment enterprise, etc.

According to him, the station also uses devices to measure the concentration of contaminants, but nothing replaces the human nose. He said: 'Machines can accurately analyze the concentration of a particular gas, but when the gases are intertwined, the data provided by the machine becomes unreliable . Moreover, It is also impossible to tell how irritating those substances are to humans. '

He also said: ' The work of smelling experts is not pleasant at all. During the training, they have to stay in the lab regularly to smell this discomfort to another horrible smell . '

According to China Daily, due to the characteristics of the job, this new profession does not have the long-term stability of other occupations. After a while, this team of smelling experts needs to be changed, because 'the olfactory function of people will diminish with age'.

Mr. Liu said the group will soon be granted a practice certificate so that they can start work with a 3-year contract term. There is no information about the potential impact of this particular job on the health of smokers.

The group of ' sniffers ' will contribute to limiting environmental pollution and protecting human health. In the photo: Guangzhou city in the fog (Photo: Reuters)

Minh Quang