title: Quantitative method to determine the regional drinking water odorant regulation goals based on odor sensitivity distribution: illustrated using 2-MIB.
abstract: Taste and odor (T/O) in drinking water often cause consumer complaints and are thus regulated in many countries. However, people in different regions may exhibit different sensitivities toward T/O. This study proposed a method to determine the regional drinking water odorant regulation goals (ORGs) based on the odor sensitivity distribution of the local population. The distribution of odor sensitivity to 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) by the local population in Beijing, China was revealed by using a normal distribution function/model to describe the odor complaint response to a 2-MIB episode in 2005, and a 2-MIB concentration of 12.9 ng/L and FPA (flavor profile analysis) intensity of 2.5 was found to be the critical point to cause odor complaints. Thus the Beijing ORG for 2-MIB was determined to be 12.9 ng/L. Based on the assumption that the local FPA panel can represent the local population in terms of sensitivity to odor, and that the critical FPA intensity causing odor complaints was 2.5, this study tried to determine the ORGs for seven other cities of China by performing FPA tests using an FPA panel from the corresponding city. ORG values between 12.9 and 31.6 ng/L were determined, showing that a unified ORG may not be suitable for drinking water odor regulations. This study presents a novel approach for setting drinking water odor regulations.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: jwyu@rcees.ac.cn.
authors: Jianwei
authors: J
authors: Yu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: anwei@rcees.ac.cn.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: An
authors: Beijing Waterworks (Group) Co. Ltd., Beijing 100085, China.
authors: Nan
authors: N
authors: Cao
authors: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: yangmin@rcees.ac.cn.
authors: Min
authors: M
authors: Yang
authors: Beijing Waterworks (Group) Co. Ltd., Beijing 100085, China.
authors: Junong
authors: J
authors: Gu
authors: Shanghai National Engineering Research Center of Urban Water Resources Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200082, China.
authors: Dong
authors: D
authors: Zhang
authors: Shanghai National Engineering Research Center of Urban Water Resources Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200082, China.
authors: Ning
authors: N
authors: Lu
mesh_terms: D001892:Camphanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D009812:Odorants
chemical_list: D001892:Camphanes; D060766:Drinking Water; C005536:2-methylisoborneol
keywords: Drinking water odor; Flavor profile analysis; Odor episode; Odor regulation goal; Odor sensitivity distribution