Proof? Will you accept the
statement of the Center for Disease Control?
they wrote:Chlorine gas can be recognized by its pungent, irritating odor, which is like the odor of bleach. The strong smell may provide adequate warning to people that they are exposed.
Chlorine's chemical cousins in the halogen family, such as iodine and bromine, also have strong characteristic odors - sharp and somewhat "biting". I don't have any trouble distinguishing between these three halogens, though.
I believe that prolonged exposure to low levels of chlorine gas can result in a state of selective anosmia - that is, you stop "smelling it", and won't be able to detect it in low concentrations until you've moved away to uncontaminated air for a while and your sensory nerves have recovered. This can make it somewhat dangerous, as you may not notice a gradual increase in chlorine concentration (e.g. from a slow leak) and you may end up taking in a dangerous dose.
Fluorine (the lightest halogen) is also reported to have a strong, characteristic odor, detectable in concentrations as low as 20 parts per million. I haven't ever knowingly encountered this stuff, and frankly would rather not make its acquaintance as a free halogen... it's nasty.
That being said - I do accept that the odor of a "stinky swimming pool" is due primarily to chloramines. Breaking up the chloramines by adding an oxidizer to the water does two things: it eliminates the odor, and actually increases the amount of free chlorine in the pool water... both good things.