Olf (unit)
The olf is a unit used to measure the strength of a pollution source. It was introduced by Danish professor P. Ole Fanger; the name "olf" is derived from the Latin word olfactus, meaning "smelled".[1]
One olf is the sensory pollution strength from a standard person defined as an average adult working in an office or similar non-industrial workplace, sedentary and in thermal comfort, with a hygienic standard equivalent of 0.7 baths per day and whose skin has a total area of 1.8 square metres. It was defined to quantify the strength of pollution sources which can be perceived by humans.
The perceived air quality is measured in decipol.[1]
Examples of typical scent emissions
| Person/object | Scent emission |
|---|---|
| Sitting person | 1 olf |
| Heavy Smoker | 25 olf |
| Athlete | 30 olf |
| Marble | 0.01 olf/m² |
| Linoleum | 0.2 olf/m² |
| Synthetic fibre | 0.4 olf/m² |
| Rubber gasket | 0.6 olf/m² |
See also
References
- ^ a b Fanger, P. O. (1987). "Introduction of the olf and the decipol Units to Quantify Air Pollution Perceived by Humans Indoors and Outdoors" (PDF). In Energy and Buildings 12 (1), pp. 1–6.
- Professor Ole Fanger's page at the Technical University of Denmark, includes curriculum vitae mentioning him proposing the unit called olf. [dead link]