Nitrobenzene – method for the determination of nitrobenzene in workplace air using gas chromatography after thermodesorption
Air Monitoring Method – Translation of the German version from 2018
Michael Tschickardt1Wilhelm Krämer2
Ralf Schmitt2
Ralph Hebisch3
Thomas Helmut Brock4
Andrea Hartwig5
MAK Commission6
1 State Environmental Agency Rhineland‐Palatinate, Kaiser‐Friedrich‐Straße 7, 55118 Mainz, Germany
2 BASF SE, ESE/MA – Z 570, Carl-Bosch-Straße 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
3 Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Friedrich-Henkel-Weg 1–25, 44149 Dortmund, Germany
4 German Social Accident Insurance, Institution for the raw materials and chemical industry, Prevention - Department of Hazardous Substances, Biological Agents and Analytical Chemistry, Kurfürsten-Anlage 62, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
5 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
6 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
This analytical method is a validated measurement procedure for the determination of nitrobenzene [98‐95‐3] in workplace air in a concentration range of one tenth up to twice the currently valid OEL or MAK value of 0.51 mg/m3. With this method simultaneously airborne nitrobenzene in the gaseous state as well as particles are collected. Sampling is performed by drawing a defined volume of air through a quartz fibre filter located in the sampling head GGP‐Mini with an adsorption tube filled with Tenax TA connected downstream using a suitable pump. The flow rate is set to 0.066 L/min with a recommended air sample volume of approx. 4 litres. The collected nitrobenzene is thermally desorbed and then analysed by means of gas chromatography using two detectors, a FID for quantification and a MSD to recognise potential interferences. The quantitative determination is based on a calibration function obtained by means of a multi‐point calibration. The limit of quantification is 0.0085 mg/m3 based on an air sample of 4 litres.
