title: Human sensory response to acetone/air mixtures.
abstract: The release of organic compounds from building products may influence the perceived air quality in the indoor environment. Consequently, building products are assessed for chemical emissions and for the acceptability of emitted odors. A procedure for odor evaluations in test chambers is described by the standard ISO 16000-28. A panel of eight or more trained subjects directly determines the perceived intensity Π (unit pi) of an air sample via diffusers. For the training of the panelists, a comparative Π-scale is applied. The panelists can use acetone/air mixtures in a concentration range between 20 mg/m(3) (0 pi) and 320 mg/m(3) (15 pi) as reference. However, the training and calibration procedure itself can substantially contribute to the method uncertainty. This concerns the assumed odor threshold of acetone, the variability of panelist responses, and the analytical determination of acetone concentrations in air with online methods as well as the influence of the diffuser geometry and the airflow profile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Analysis and Indoor Chemistry, Fraunhofer WKI, Braunschweig, Germany. tunga.salthammer@wki.fraunhofer.de.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Salthammer
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Analysis and Indoor Chemistry, Fraunhofer WKI, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Analysis and Indoor Chemistry, Fraunhofer WKI, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stolte
authors.affiliation: Department of Material Analysis and Indoor Chemistry, Fraunhofer WKI, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uhde
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000032:analysis*; D000328:Adult; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis*; D055696:Olfactory Perception; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D000096:Acetone
keywords: Acetone; ISO 16000-28; Odor; Perceived intensity; Sensory testing; Π-scale