Journal ofthe Human-Environmental System
Review Article Vol. 5: No, 2: 61-68, 2002
‘The Use of Olfactory Stimulants to Improve Indoor Air Quality
Diotima von Kempski
DVK air vtalizing system Bickergasse 2 40213 Disseldorf, Getmany
E-mail: Dvkempski@-online.de
(received on December 11, 2001, accepted on April 12,2002)
Abstract
‘The impact of indoor air quality on the welt-being and comfor of a building's occupants are Key to creat-
ing an indoor environment which increases human performance,
“To date, efforts to improve indoor air quality have focused on creating thermal comfort and on developing
technical means of reducing odor pollution, However, it has not yet been possible to translate these efforts
Into a corresponding improvement in the "éissatistaction level” expressed by building occupants.
‘Conventional approaches are bound to remain Incomplete because they fail to take account of physio
logical and psychological affects of the sense of smell. Acceptable indoor air quality can only be achieved if
the reduction in air pollution is combined with the addition of natural ofactory stimulants with sufficient posi-
tive attrioutes. Indoor air will only be perceived as acceptable if olfactory criteria are taken into consideration
Jn adaltion tothe tradltional eitria of thermal comfort,
Furthermore, itis necessary to set high standards for the use ofthe olfactory stimulants which are added
to the indoor air. There are @ number of specific requirements for the selection and dispersion of these sub-
stances.
Key words: olfaction, indoor, ai quality, perception, well-being
Introduction
Its dificult to overstate the importance of indoor
air quality. Research in the field of air conditioning
hhas shown that indoor air quality has a significant in-
fluence on the comfort and well-being of occupants
‘In particular, ar quality plays an important role in de~
termining employee productivity. It is estimated that
the annual benefit of upgrading all commercial build
ings in the United States to ASHRAE-standards 62-
1989 and 55-1992 [1] would amount to over $ 50 bil»
lion or approximately $ 12 per square meter per year
(Dorgan 1994) (2.
Good indoot air quality is determined by two
major atributes:
+ The air should not carry any health risks.
+ The sir should be perceived as pleasant and
fresh.
‘The first ofthese attributes is assessed by objective
‘measures of air quality. Indoor air is generally te
garded as acceptable, when it does not contain any
known contaminants in armful concentration
(ASHRAE 1989) [3]. This includes measures of con-
centration of chemical agents, microorganisms,
volatile organic compounds and carbon dioxide. Per
‘missible limits are established for the respective con-
‘centrations of pollutants. However with as many as
900 different hazardous substances present in any
siven building this assessment of indoor air is itself «
complex and difficult process.
Adding another level of complexity to the meas-
urement issues, the second attribute of good air qual-
ity is defined by subjective criteria. For a long time
the attention has been focused on the contaminants
concentrations in indoor air. Only more recently have
the subjective criteria been added. This is important
because a true picture of the effect of air quality on
‘occupants requires the inclusion of the physiological
and psychological factors measured by these subjec=
tive eriteria,
‘The subjective criteria include two elements-ther-
mal comfort (which depends on room temperature
and humidity) and the peresived air quality (which
depends on the odorous substances present in the
ain)
‘While thermal comfort has long been the goal of
airconditioning systems, the influence of the sense of
smell has only recently been researched,
Cain et al. (1983) [4] and Fanger et al. (1983) [5]
have demonstrated that odor pollution directly infu-
ences the “dissatisfaction rate” of occupants. The re62 Diotima von Kempski
search by Fanger (1988) [6] shows the percentage
dissatisfied to be a function ofthe rate of ventilation
air and the number of people occupying the space.
On this basis a seale for evaluating air quality has
been introduced. According tothe scale the perceived
air quality can be expressed in decipols, where 1 de-
cipol is defined as the odor pollution caused by one
average person (one olf) ventilated by 10Vsee. of un-
polluted ae
‘The evaluation of decipol figures has, however,
been called into question. In a European Union (EU)
audit (European Audit Project to Optimize Indoor
Air Quality and Energy Consumption in Office
Buildings), there are indications that the dissatisfac-
tion level may not rise significantly until @ devipol-
value of 10 has been reached and that this depends on
‘whether a trained or untrained test group is carrying
‘out the air quality evaluation (Bluyssen et al. 1995)
[7] Bischof ct al.1999 [8]. The basic problem of air
pollution and its effects on indoor air quality has,
however, been confirmed by the investigations. Inde-
pendent ofthe evaluation of the decipol levels, the re-
sulls ofthe EU Auait show thatthe percentage dissat-
isfied remains between 15% and 40% even when the
outdoor air is adjusted to an optimum level and when
the best available filtration is used (Finke 1995) {8}.
Complaints of stuffy and artificial air persist.
‘The reason why the percentage dissatisfied is still
relatively high is not so much because of inadequate
technical equipment available but because current ap-
proaches fail to take into account that our perception
‘or behavior is not only influenced negatively by odor
pollution, but also by the absence of positive stima-
lating substances (Brockmeier and von Kempski
1992) (9).
‘An approach whose primary concern has been to
reduce or remove negative olfactory substances inthe
air is valid but remains incomplete since it ignores
the neurophysiological and psychological research
findings from the field of aromachology.
Olfactory Comfort
‘An assortment of odor molecules is found in un-
treated air, With every breath they reach the uppet
nasal passages called the cleft, which contain the ol-
factory epithelium, The average epithelium contains
roughly 30 millions receptor cells, each of which
has microscopic hairs (cilia). Odor substances bind
chemically with the cilia, beginning a process, which
results in electrical messages being passed to the
brain along the olfactory nerves. Within the brain, the
olfactory bulb receives sensory inputs and comtmuni-
cates these with a number of other regions including
the limbic system, the hypothalamus, and the cortex.
‘The limbic system is probably the most complex, one
of the most important, and one of the least well un-
derstood parts of the brain. It controls mood and
emotions, our perception of the environment as well
as the formation, storage, and retrieval of memories.
Stimuli which are transmitted, to the limbic system
cannot consciously be blocked. All olfactory stimuli
therefore influence our emotions (von Kempski 1996)
[10}. They also contribute to a wealth of retained
‘memories—the olfactory sense is stored in the brain
for a longer period of time than any of the other
senses.
To date, olfactory research has identified over
6,000 different olfactory substances of which up to
400 are generally found in indoor air.
A number of surveys on the neuto-physiological
and aromachological influence of odors indicate that
the sensory assessment of olfactory substances re-
quires analysis of the following four criteria:
+ Detectability
+ Intensity
+ Quality or character
+ Hedonic note.
Of these four criteria (which are all detailed in the
ASHRAE-handbook) [11] the hedonic note is of spe-
cial importance. It decides whether the olfactory sub-
stance is perceived as pleasant or unpleasant. De-
pending on the quality, the intensity, and the de-
fectability of the olfactory substance, the hedonic
note determines whether it influences people posi-
tively or negatively, Research over the past few years
hhas demonstrated how olfactory substances of re-
quired quality and hedonic note are capable of in-
creasing individuals’ well-being,
* Lorig and Schwartz (1988 [12] and 1990 [13))
studied the neurological and physiological effects
of different olfactory substances and found that
electro-physiological activity, especially in the
parts of the brain which are important for alertness
‘and concentration, can be influenced positively or
negatively depending on the olfactory substances
used.
Kobal (1992) [14] measured electrical brain activ-
ity to determine that cognitive processes can be it
fluenced in a controlled manner by the admi
tion of various odors tothe right or let nostri
Kikuchi (1991) [15] explored the effect of $ odor
fous substances on the central nervous system. Cer-
tain pleasant odors were found to increase both
heart rate and contingent negative variation (CNV).
‘Moreover, the heart rate and CNV tended to vary
coincidentally under the same odor conditions.
Sogano (1984) [16], Yoshida et al. (1989) [17] and
Ishiteya (1991) [18] independently identified a
‘number of olfactory substances which differentially
influence the alpha and the delta waves which areThe Use of Olfactory Stimulants o Improve Indoor Air Quality 63
indicators of mood.
Harnisch (1982) [19] proved in a number of experi-
ments (using the heart rate as a measure of fear)
that pleasant odors are able to reduce fear.
+ More recently, Alaoui-Ismaili et al. (1997) [20] an-
alyzed the neuro-physiological effects of olfactory
substances with negative and positive hedonic
notes. They demonstrate how substances with dif
forent hedonic notes not only positively and nega-
tively influence moods but also how these subjec~
tive perceptions themselves correspond fo neuro-
Physiological symptoms. For example, specific
positive olfactory substances can decrease physio
logical stress resulting in normalization of neuro
physiological symptoms such as skin resistance,
skin temperature, breath frequency and heartbeat.
The above findings have been confirmed by addi-
tional research in the field of aromachology.
+ As early as 1987, Warren (1987) [21] reported that
specific odors found in nutmeg oil, maze extract,
neroli oil, valerian oil, myristiein, isoelemicin, and
clemicin, can reduce stress in humans as well as re
duce stress-related blood pressure.
+ The research conducted by Dember et al. (1992)
[22] is of special significance. They measured the