Suzanne's Mom's Blog

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Brendola is in Italy’s Po River valley, an industrial area where residents frequently complain about the smell of pollution.

There was a period in my life when I traveled regularly from the Philadelphia area to Fire Island in New York State.

If I took anyone with me, somewhere around the crossover from New Jersey to New York, they would suddenly gasp and say, “Wow, what is that terrible smell?”

The answer was Elizabeth, New Jersey; the smell was courtesy of oil refineries. I used to keep a small bottle of perfume in the glove compartment for emergencies.

I mention this story today as I’m thinking about the array of jobs in the world for people with sensitive noses: perfumers, sommeliers, tea tasters, and flavor scientists, to name a few.

Now an Italian city plagued by air pollution is offering to pay people with sensitive noses for their assistance.

Angela Giuffrida writes at the Guardian, “An Italian town is seeking a crew of sniffers to identify bad smells in its quest to improve air quality.

“Bruno Beltrame, the mayor of Brendola, a small town in the northern province of Vicenza, said he began the recruitment campaign for six ‘odor evaluators’ after complaints about ‘unpleasant smells’ from people living in neighborhoods close to industrial zones.

“The main prerequisite for the role is not to suffer from allergies or respiratory diseases such as asthma. The recruits must have a car and a smartphone, which will be used to record the odor data on a dedicated app.

“Led by a firm specialising in odor measurement, they will be trained in how to distinguish between smells, for example, those typically emitted from factories or which originate from industrial waste or sewage.

“They will then be given the task of going to targeted areas to carry out sensory assessments. If an unsavoury smell is detected, they will spend time sniffing the air before recording their perceptions on the app. The ultimate goal of the initiative, which is expected to last six months, is to trace the origin of the odors.

“ ‘We did a similar investigation about five years ago in an industrial area close to where the bad smells are coming from now,’ said Beltrame. ‘From that, we were able to identify the companies emitting the odors.’ “

More at the Guardian, here. I can imagine college students who find this part-time gig amusing might end up in one of those unusual careers one occasionally reads about.