olf

n. a scientific measure of indoor odor intensity. Subjects: English, Science

Etymological Note: olfaction unit, from the Latin olfactus ‘the action or capacity of smelling; the sense of smell.’ Coined by Danish scientist Povl Ole Fanger in 1987. The first cite is his presentation of the term and its meaning to the scientific community.

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Citations: 1987 P.O. Fanger Energy and Buildings (Aug. 17) “Introduction of the olf and the decipol units to quantify air pollution perceived by humans indoors and outdoors” vol. 12, no. 1, p. 2 @ (Apr., 1988): The idea is to express any pollution source by a comparable known reference source. The new unit is called one “olf,” from the latin word olfactus (olfaction), although both the olfactory and the chemical sense are involved in the definition of the unit. One olf is the emission rate of air pollutants (bioeffluents) from a standard person. 1991 Jonathan M. Samet Indoor Air Pollution (June 1) p. 360: Using an odor panel as a subjective instrument, Fanger (1987) defined the olf (abbreviation for olfaction unit) as the emission rate of bioeffluents from a standard sedentary person in thermal comfort. 2002 Jeremy Colls Air Pollution (Oct. 1) p. 341: A smoker has been reported as being about six olf even when not actually smoking.

Posted 5 Jan 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend