Just How Do You Measure Stink?

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) uses a device called a Scentometer. This device uses an actvated charcoal filter to allow an investigator to compare clean air with the odor being evaluated. For a violation to be logged, the investigator must smell the odor twice in less than an hour, but the two samples must be taken at least 15 minutes apart.
Even if the investigator detects an odor, the plant suspected as the source would not immediately be issued a Notice of Violation, regulators said. Instead, the company would first receive a Notice of Excess Emission, or a NOEE.
Paul Vitzthum, Chief of Air and Solid Waste Unit for MDNR in Springfield said, "There's probably not been a NOEE written in the last three years". (The Joplin Globe, Sunday, March 20, 2005)

The same article states that in a 5-year period of time, MDNR fielded 216 odor complaints throughout the region. There have been 0 violations cited. Something is wrong here! Obviously, the way myself and 216 other Southwest Missouri residents measure stink is with our nose. Maybe it's time for the MDNR to throw away the Scentometer, and take a sniff.