Detecting Odors : Nobody Knows What Those Noses Knows

Years ago, the late entertainer Jimmy Durante used to raise a laugh when he tilted his head to one side, touched the tip of his nose, and remarked “the nose knows.”

It turns out Durante was right. When it comes to measuring the pungency of aromas, the only instrument available is the nose, according to John D. Bryson, president of a Milwaukee-based company which makes odor-neutralizing products for home, commercial and health facility use.

If you should want to compare perfumes or decide whether an industrial facility is polluting the atmosphere with noxious odors, you’d have to assemble a panel of sniffers, Bryson said.

The fact that bad odors can’t be precisely measured, however, does not mean they don’t exist. A rather wide variety of situations exist in which odors need to be neutralized in the interests of safety, health and well-being, he said.

Uses Span Spectrum

On the home front, smoke-damaged houses, areas where pets have sprayed, some cooking odors, and the presence of damp and mildew can be smells bad enough to require neutralizing.

In industry, plastic-laminate manufacturing plants which use formaldehyde-based products are among sites requiring attention. Others include sewage treatment plants, tanneries, slaughterhouses and landfills.

In the hospital and health facility field, a variety of diseases such as some types of cancers produce piercing odors.

Beginning with strewing-herbs, used as early as the Middle Ages, odor-masking devices have traditionally been employed to overcome some of the problems. But a more recent development has been the use of odor-removing charcoal and other types of filters.

Bryson’s firm, however, has come up with a new system that seems to fall somewhere between the two methods. It includes a liquid which saturates a fabric material and is released into the atmosphere as a gas through a plastic “envelope.” The plastic holder can be opened to a greater or lesser extent to release the odor-neutralizing liquid. According to Bryson, this envelope is patented and is unique at present.

The company’s product line ranges from large electric filters for industrial installations (at a cost of $1,000 or more) to small disposable units for use in a kitchen, bathroom or the family car, for example, that use no outside energy source and sell for under $5. (The company also offers a more expensive electric unit for the home, in addition to the disposable canisters which may last for up to six months.)

Development began in 1972 when Bryson received a visit from Dr. J. F. T. Berliner and Dr. Denny Watkins. The two men -- an engineer and a chemist -- had formulated a liquid capable of neutralizing odors.

Bryson, whose field was hospital supplies, saw the advantage of such a product. A significant public health and amenity problem for hospitals has been the odors produced by some patients with serious diseases.

Patient Care Difficult

These unpleasant smells have made it difficult for health-care professionals and family members and friends to care for and spend time with such patients.

After several years of development by his firm -- G. D. Searle Co. -- the company disbanded this part of its business. Bryson bought the division and renamed it Vaportek. At present, he said, Vaportek equipment is found in most of the cancer hospitals in the country and at other health facilities, as well.

Although the product has caught on in commercial and hospital markets, consumer interest has been relatively sparse in the United States. As a group, Americans are not very odor-conscious, according to Bryson.

On the other hand, in Japan, where about 150,000 disposable units a month are sold, the message has gotten through, perhaps because of a series of fortuitous events.

Natural Ingredients

For one thing, the Vaportek liquid formula is made from natural oils derived from trees and plants that happen to be found freely in the forests of Japan.

The Japanese are said to believe that the forest is especially efficacious as a health builder. Many Japanese make regular visits to breathe in forest air in a belief that they are promoting good health.

Furthermore, as a society the Japanese put great store in what authorities say. So when Dr. K. Kamiyama, an environmental authority, said the liquid did contain the right forest oils, sales took a leap.

“It wasn’t a product endorsement, but it certainly didn’t hurt,” Bryson said.