Can we trust odor databases? Example of t- and n-butyl acetate

The US EPA has exempted t-butyl acetate from VOC regulations, which increases the likelihood that it may replace other solvents in some settings. This investigation probes its chemosensory properties. In Study 1, subjects ( n = 29) sought to detect the odor of t-butyl acetate and of n-butyl acetate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmospheric environment (1994) 2009-05, Vol.43 (16), p.2591-2601
Main Authors: Cain, William S., Schmidt, Roland
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical chemistry
Chemistry
Chromatographic methods and physical methods associated with chromatography
Exact sciences and technology
Gas chromatographic methods
n-Butyl acetate
Ocular irritation
Odor threshold
Psychophysics
t-Butyl acetate
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Summary:The US EPA has exempted t-butyl acetate from VOC regulations, which increases the likelihood that it may replace other solvents in some settings. This investigation probes its chemosensory properties. In Study 1, subjects ( n = 29) sought to detect the odor of t-butyl acetate and of n-butyl acetate in forced-choice testing of stable concentrations, analytically confirmed. Subjects sniffed from cones with a high enough volumetric flow to insure against dilution by nonodorized air. A subject made hundreds of judgments, enough for a psychometric function for each material. The points of 50% detection above chance (“threshold”) occurred at 8 and 2 ppb for t-butyl acetate and n-butyl acetate, respectively. In study 2, subjects ( n = 26) sought to detect vapor with the eye via chemesthesis (sensory irritation) in 10-s exposures. Detection at 50% occurred at 177 and 113 ppm for t-butyl acetate and n-butyl acetate, respectively, more than 10,000 times above that for odor detection. The protocols produced results of uncommon precision compared to those in often-misleading archival databases. The nose exhibits much higher sensitivity than the databases indicate. The collections rarely exhibit accuracy better than ±1000%. Collection of accurate data for a VOC can ironically bring on stricter regulation for just it, a situation that calls for a strategy to improve the database by collection of new data, importation of better data, and development of quantitative structure–activity modeling.
ISSN:1352-2310
1873-2844
DOI:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.02.024