Characterizing Response Variability and Method Uncertainty in Odour Perception Research

Data previously collected to determine odour thresholds in fish flesh for individual contaminants identified as possible fish tainting substances from oil sands wastewaters were reanalyzed to determine both the variability in response for an 11 member panel and the range of uncertainty for the detection method. Results are presented for 8 compounds: naphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene, 2,3,5-trimethylnaphthalene, 1.4-dimethylbenzene, benzothiophene, dibenzothiophene and 2,5-dimethylphenol. These results demonstrate that substantial variability was present in responses from a group of only 11 panelists who were selected for their sensitivity and consistency, while method uncertainty was tolerably narrow.