'Pollution Sniffers': Unusual profession assists in fight against poor air quality

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In one of the unusual steps in China's fight against air pollution, a group of special experts have been tasked with identifying pollution, using their noses. CGTN's Ning Hong spoke to some of these so-called 'pollution sniffers' to find out what their job entails.

Sniffing out the pollution. In the environment monitoring center of Shijiazhuang city, in north China's Hebei Province, a group of pollution sniffers are working to identify air pollution by smelling it. The air that they are smelling was collected from near polluted sources, using this vacuum bottle.

GAO XIN, RESEARCHER SHIJIAZHUANG ENVIRONMENT MONITORING CENTER "Normally we will take samples from three different places downwind."

The air was then diluted and siphoned into one of these air bags.

NING HONG HEBEI PROVINCE "One of these three bags contains polluted air and their job is to identify it. It is quite a basic job - however, it is also very important as the human sense can be very sensitive to pollution, especially pollution from complex sources."

It doesn't require a keen sense of smell to be a sniffer, though they must be officially licensed by local authorities. Wang Haiying is a senior pollution sniffer. She told us that while various machines and detectors can be used to analyze pollution, the human nose still represents a quick and accurate barometer.

WANG HAIYING, POLLUTION SNIFFER SHIJIAZHUANG ENVIRONMENT MONITORING CENTER "Responding to reports on pollution has to be done quickly. Using your nose is a quick way of determining whether pollution exists and how bad it is, especially when you have no idea about the source or the level of pollution."

The results are calculated and a conclusion is submitted to the city authority. While the nature of their roles means these sniffers are often exposed to polluted air from unknown sources, Wang shrugs off the potential danger.

WANG HAIYING, POLLUTION SNIFFER SHIJIAZHUANG ENVIRONMENT MONITORING CENTER "These are the basic requirements of the laboratory. The danger is real but it is not that serious."

To ensure the accuracy of the results, many sniffers choose not to use make up or eat any spicy food that may affect their sense of smell. But the sacrifice appears to be worth it for this hardy group of pollution sniffers. Ning Hong, CGTN，Hebei Province.