Amines – Determination of amines in workplace air using gas chromatography (headspace GC-MS)
Air monitoring method - Translation of the German version from 2024
Ralf Schmitt1 (Method development)Wilhelm Krämer1 (Method development)
Christiane Kaus2 (External verification)
Ralph Hebisch3 (Head of the working group “Air Analyses” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Thomas Helmut Brock4 (Head of the working group “Analytics”)
Andrea Hartwig5 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission6
1 BASF SE, Carl-Bosch-Straße 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
2 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the DGUV (IFA), German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), Alte Heerstraße 111, 53757 Sankt Augustin, 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-Analge 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
The working group “Air Analyses” of the German Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area (MAK Commission) developed and verified the presented analytical method. The analytical method described permits the determination of aliphatic amines in workplace air. The concentration range covers one tenth up to twice the currently valid occupational exposure limit value (OELV). Sampling is performed using a flow-regulated pump to draw a defined volume of air through a Millipore Aerosol Monitor type A system equipped with two glass fibre filters, which are acid-impregnated. The volumetric flow rate is 1 l/min and sampling time is 2 hours. The collected amines deposited on the filter are extracted with an aqueous solution and analysed by means of headspace gas chromatography with mass spectrometry. Quantitative determination is based on multiple-point calibrations with an internal standard. For an air sample volume of 120 litres, the relative limits of quantification are between 0.002 and 0.057 mg/m3. The measurement of the short-term exposure limit is also enabled. The recovery is between 95 and 104% and the expanded uncertainty is between 17 and 28% for a 2-hour sampling.
