Britain trains noses for 'stench squads'

LONDON, April 12 (UPI) -- The British government has announced the formation of a "stench squad" to tackle a proliferation of bad smells across the nation.

The odor detectors will learn to calibrate their noses in an attempt to test their responses to a range of offensive smells, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

It's part of a government effort to get tough on odor pollution, which is in part being caused by an increase in the number of recycling centers and industrial composting sites, the newspaper said. Britain's Environment Agency says complaints about bad smells should be taken just as seriously as those about noise and light pollution.

"Unpleasant odors can be a real blight and they need to stop," Ed Mitchell, head of policy and regulation at the organization, told the Telegraph. "They can have a significant impact on people's lives and can be quite unpleasant if people feel they can't sit out in their garden on a sunny afternoon."

Pollution control officers will be deployed to tackle such sources of odors as farms, food makers and waste management companies -- and even residential properties, the newspaper said.