The Web-App NOSE is a free application that allows citizens to send their geo-referenced and real-time reports about odour episodes in a confidential and anonymous way to the Regional Environmental Ministry of Sicily. Mr Cordaro and Anna Abita from the Regional Environmental Ministry of Environment of Sicily and Paolo Bonasoni from the Institute of Atmospheric Science and Climate (ISAC) of Italy presented last week the preliminary results of a 2-year study on odour mapping funded by the Sicilian Region and co-financed by the ISAC.

   This study commenced at the end of August 2019 in the area of Syracuse and In 4 months, 3200 odour observations have been collected from 2000 registered citizens. 2400 times the citizens have reported the smell of hydrocarbons, 271 times they reported sulfurs and 180 times they smelled solvents. Regarding intensity, 1500 reports recorded a maximum level intensity (5) and 1100 observations registered an intensity of 4. Finally, this app offers the possibility to register a health issue. In this sense, 1500 participants reported difficulty breathing, 1300 burning and irritation in the throat and 1100 headache.

   The first face-to-face meeting and fourth meeting in total of the group dealing with a new Spanish standard on the use of psychometry to map odours took place in Barcelona in September. A group of 10 experts met to discuss this new text that hopefully will become a new standard, but how is going to be named the text? Mapping odour? mapping annoyance? Collaborative mapping?

   This group is taking another step on traditional psychometry using citizen observations to try to take a photo of the odour impact in a certain area with alternative tools. In this case, instead of using surveys, diaries or performing personal interviews, the maps are being made dynamically by using an app that print time and location of an odour observation.