Method for the determination of chlorinated hydrocarbons in workplace air using gas chromatography after thermal desorption
Air Monitoring Method
Michael Tschickardt1 (Method development)Thomas Helmut Brock2 (Head of the working group “Analytics”)
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)
Andrea Hartwig4 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission5
1 State Environmental Agency Rhineland‐Palatinate, Kaiser‐Friedrich‐Staße 7, 55118 Mainz, Germany
2 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
3 Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Friedrich-Henkel-Weg 1–25, 44149 Dortmund, Germany
4 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
5 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
This analytical procedure is a validated measurement method for the determination of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs) such as dichloromethane, tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,1‐trichloroethane and trichloroethylene and for monitoring their Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) or MAK values in workplace air. Sampling is performed by drawing a defined volume of air through an adsorption tube filled with Chromosorb 106 using a flow‐regulated pump. The flow rate is set to 5 mL/min with a recommended air sample volume of 200 mL. The collected chlorinated hydrocarbons are thermally desorbed and analysed by means of gas chromatography fitted with two detectors, a flame ionisation detectors (FID) for quantification and a mass selective detector (MSD) for identification and quantification. The quantitative determination is based on calibration functions obtained by means of 10‐point calibrations. The limits of quantification (LOQs) are determined on the basis of aliquots from 1 to 10 mL of the calibration gases in the lower concentration range. The LOQs ranged from 0.85 to 4.3 mg/m3 based on air sample volumes of 200 mL. The expanded uncertainties ranged from 13 to 23% over the entire measuring range.
Joint Publication of the Analytical Subcommittee of the Chemistry Board of Experts of the Expert Committee Raw Materials and Chemical Industry of the German Social Accident Insurance and the Working Group “Air Monitoring Methods” of the Permanent Senate Commission of the DFG for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area.
