Nose for trouble: Italian town seeks ‘odour evaluators’ to sniff out bad smells

Mayor of Brendola in Vicenza says he has received complaints from residents who live near industrial zones

An Italian town is seeking a crew of sniffers to identify bad smells in its quest to improve air quality.

Bruno Beltrame, the mayor of Brendola, a small town in the northern province of Vicenza, said he began the recruitment campaign for six “odour evaluators” after complaints about “unpleasant smells” from people living in neighbourhoods close to industrial zones.

The main prerequisite for the role is not to suffer from allergies or respiratory diseases such as asthma. The recruits must have a car and a smartphone, which will be used to record the odour data on a dedicated app.

Led by a firm specialising in odour measurement, they will be trained in how to distinguish between smells, for example those typically emitted from factories or which originate from industrial waste or sewage.

They will then be given the task of going to targeted areas to carry out sensory assessments. If an unsavoury smell is detected, they will spend time sniffing the air before recording their perceptions on the app.

The ultimate goal of the initiative, which is expected to last six months, is to trace the origin of the odours.

“We did a similar investigation about five years ago in an industrial area close to where the bad smells are coming from now,” said Beltrame. “From that, we were able to identify the companies emitting the odours. Now we are broadening the geographical scope to find out if the same companies have resumed the release of bad smells or if there are different ones.”

Vicenza falls within the Po valley, a huge geographical area straddling the provinces around the Veneto region as well as Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. The Po Valley is among the worst areas in Europe for air pollution.

“We’re at the end of the valley just before the Alpine foothills,” said Beltrame. “So it’s a huge undertaking because these areas are among the most productive, but they’re also the ones at risk of creating pollution.”

He said several province-wide initiatives work continuously to improve air and water quality. “We have a lot of protocols in place, and if businesses break the rules they are heavily fined.”

Brendola is home to about 4,000 people who over the years have become more committed to protecting their environment. Beltrame said: “Whereas previously they might have been a bit careless, today they are more inclined to want to improve their quality of life and surrounding environment. So when they see abandoned waste or smell foul air, they report it. We’re happy because it allows us to promptly intervene in order to prevent potentially worse catastrophes.”

The local authority initially advertised for the jobs, which are paid, before Christmas but there were no takers, “perhaps because it was published so close to the holidays, many might have turned their noses up,” said Beltrame.

But since reposting the advert on Facebook this week, about a dozen people applied. “They were mostly university students who have a few hours to spare around their studies, and they seem very keen.”