Impaired Odor Perception in Tank Cleaners

• Published in: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment ＆ Health Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 574 - 581
• Main Authors: Ahlström, Richard, Berglund, Birgitta, Berglund, Ulf, Lindvall, Thomas, Wennberg, Arne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Finland Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment ＆ Health 01-12-1986; National Board of Occupational Safety and Health; The Working Environment Fund; Swedish Medical Society, Section for Environmental Health; Work Research Institutes; Institute of Occupational Health
• Subjects: Adult; Cleaning; Detergents - adverse effects; Disulfides; Humans; Male; Mental stimulation; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases - chemically induced; Odorants; Odors; Olfactory Pathways - physiopathology; Olfactory perception; Psychophysics; Pyridines; Referents; Smell - physiology; Solvents; Surface-Active Agents - adverse effects; Vapors; heating oil; recruitment; dimethyl disulfide; absolute thresholds; odor deficit; pyridine; olfaction; n-butanol; solvents
• ISSN: 0355-3140; 1795-990X
• DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.2100

The olfactory perception of 20 men (tank cleaners) exposed to petroleum products (while cleaning oil tanks) was examined. Office workers and watchmen were used as referents (N = 20 + 20). They were matched with regard to sex, age, and smoking habits. Odor detection thresholds and the perceived odor intensity of four odorous stimuli, pyridine, dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), n-butanol, and heating oil vapor (gas phase of heating oil heated to + 40°C), were determined. The results suggested that the tank cleaners had higher absolute odor thresholds for n-butanol and oil vapor than the referents. The psychophysical function of the tank cleaners and referents differed for all the tested substances in respect to odor intensity. The tank cleaners displayed an odor deficit analogous to the hearing loss known as "loudness recruitment," ie, normal perception of strong stimuli but impaired perception of weak stimuli. This odor deficit was therefore named "odor intensity recruitment" and seems, in tank cleaners, to be associated with occupational exposure to oil vapor.