From odorant formation to odour nuisance: new definitions for discussing a complex process.

The process leading from odorant formation to individuals filing a complaint is complex, involving many steps and factors. A flow chart is proposed. The definitions that describe elements of this process, such as annoyance, nuisance, propensity of a population to experience nuisance, the "unpleasantness" of an odour, as used in odour literature, are often imprecise and confusing. A set of definitions is proposed to identify the issues involved and suggest a more precise use of terminology. A new definition for "annoyance potential" as an attribute of an odour is proposed. The concepts were developed for a study into the feasibility of developing a standardised method for measuring annoyance potential, funded by the programme "Improvement of the quality of Environmental Measurements", funded by the Ministry of Public Planning and the Environment in The Netherlands. The programme is expected to lead to a development programme, which will be outlined.