Hexavalent chromium – Determination of particular hexavalent chromium in workplace air using ion chromatography with post-column derivatisation (IC-UV/VIS)
Air Monitoring Method
Kurt Timm1 (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 German Social Accident Insurance Institution of the raw materials and chemical industry, Department Hazardous Substances, Biological Agents and Analytical Chemistry, Laboratory Leuna, Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße 18E, 06237 Leuna, 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 Institut für Angewandte Biowissenschaften, Abteilung Lebensmittelchemie und Toxikologie, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (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
Abstract
This analytical method is a validated measurement procedure for the determination of particular hexavalent chromium e.g. potassium chromate [7789-00-6], potassium dichromate [7778-50-9], chromium(VI) oxide [1333-82-0] and lead(II) chromate [7758-97-6] after personal or stationary sampling. Sampling is performed by drawing a defined volume of air through a polymer membrane filter using a suitable flow-regulated pump. After liquid desorption, the hexavalent chromium retained on the filter is analysed using ion chromatography with UV/VIS detection after post-column derivatisation. The relative limit of quantification (LOQ) is 0.10 µg Cr(VI)/m3 for an air sample volume of 1.2 m3. The mean recovery for soluble hexavalent chromium was 98 to 103%. The concentration-dependent expanded uncertainty was 22%. This analytical method has been accredited by the accident insurance companies for the detection in workplace air of substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction. This method has been tested and recommended for the determination of hexavalent chromium in work areas by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV). Both personal and stationary sampling can be performed for measurements in order to evaluate work areas.
