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    5. The MAK Collection for Occupational Health and Safety
    6. Article
    7. Volume 4 (2019)
    8. Issue 1
    9. Glycol esters, glycol ethers – Method for the determination of propylene glycol monoethyl ether, 1-ethoxy-2-propanol acetate, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether and diethylene glycol monobutyl ether in workplace air using gas chromatography. Air Monitoring Method – Translation of the German version from 2018
Cover: The MAK Collection for Occupational Health and Safety

The MAK Collection for Occupational Health and Safety

German Research Foundation – Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area
(MAK Commission)

ISSN 2509-2383



Glycol esters, glycol ethers – Method for the determination of propylene glycol monoethyl ether, 1-ethoxy-2-propanol acetate, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether and diethylene glycol monobutyl ether in workplace air using gas chromatography

Air Monitoring Method – Translation of the German version from 2018

Yvonne Giesen1
Claudia Friedrich1
Dietmar Breuer1
Jürgen Fauss2
  Ralph Hebisch3
  Thomas Helmut Brock4
  Andrea Hartwig5
  MAK Commission6

1 Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the German Social Accident Insurance (IFA), Alte Heerstraße 111, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany
2 German Social Accident Insurenace, Institution for the foodstuffs industry and the catering trade, Dynamostraße 7‐11, 68165 Mannheim, 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 and limit value monitoring of 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propanol, 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate, 2‐(2‐methoxyethoxy)ethanol, 2‐(2‐ethoxyethoxy)ethanol and 2‐(2‐butoxyethoxy)ethanol in workplace air. With this method simultaneously airborne glycols in the gaseous state as well as particles are collected. Sampling is performed by drawing a defined volume of air through the sampling system GGP‐Mini consisting of a glass fibre filter and a charcoal tube connected downstream using a suitable flow‐regulated pump. The flow rate is set to 0.33 L/min with a recommended air sample volume of 40 L. The collected glycols are desorbed with a mixture of dichloromethane/methanol containing 1‐hexanol as internal standard and then analysed by means of gas chromatography using FID. The quantitative evaluation is based on calibration functions obtained by means of multiple‐point calibrations. The limit of quantification (LOQ) for the individual glycol esters or glycol ethers is 0.5 mg/m3 based on an air sample volume of 40 L.

Keywords

glycol ester, glycol ether, air analyses, analytical method, workplace measurement, gas chromatography, flame ionisation detection, GC-FID, glass fibre filter, activated charcoal