Nasal Ranger gets OK to sniff out smell violations in Las Vegas
It just got a little easier to sniff out smell violations in Las Vegas.
An odor ordinance sailed through to City Council approval Wednesday, which lays out standards for odor offenses in the city and gives code enforcement the ability to restrict stenches that surpass a certain level on the Nasal Ranger.
The city owns one of the $2,000 tools, called an olfactometer.
Until Wednesday, the city did not have an ordinance dealing specifically with odor.
“We have no objective standard that says ‘hey, you people need to clean up your act,’” Councilman Bob Beers said.
The idea for the ordinance was spurred by a cat-hoarding house a few years ago. The possibility of overwhelming odors from recreational marijuana also became part of the discussion.
It is a violation if Nasal Ranger takes a reading that crosses a threshold of seven parts oxygen to one part odorous air.
Mayor Carolyn Goodman was concerned about the Nasal Ranger requiring a code enforcement employee to draw in air with their nose stuffed into one end of the device.
“I don’t know what to do with my concern, but I’m always looking at exposure to our people,” Goodman said.
The device filters the air that is drawn in.
The council approved the ordinance with one change that exempts odorized natural gas from the regulations. Southwest Gas voiced concern that it could apply to the odor technicians put into natural gas so leaks can be detected, city Planning Director Tom Perrigo said.
“The bill will be based on new technology and will create, for the first time, the long nose of the law,” Beers said.
Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.
