Carbon disulfide – Determination of carbon disulfide in workplace air using headspace gas chromatography (headspace-GC-FPD)
Air Monitoring Method – Translation of the German version from 2024
Andreas Grill1 (Method development)Claus-Peter Maschmeier2 (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)
Uta Lewin-Kretzschmar4 (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 Kelheim Fibres GmbH, Regensburger Str. 109, 93309 Kelheim, Germany
2 Federal state Saxony-Anhalt, Gebrüder-Bethmann-Str. 18, 06862 Dessau-Roßlau, 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
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. It is used to determine the levels of carbon disulfide [75-15-0] that occur in the workplace air. The method covers concentrations in the range from one tenth to twice the current German occupational exposure limit value (OELV) of 30 mg/m3. It is also suitable for monitoring compliance with the MAK value of 16 mg/m3 and the short-term exposure limit (STEL; excursion factor 2). Samples are collected by drawing a defined volume of air through a sampling tube filled with activated charcoal using a flow regulated pump at a maximal volumetric flow rate of 0.333 l/min. Exposure during the shift is measured with a sampling period of 2 hours (up to 8 hours, depending on the volumetric flow) and the short-term exposure with a period of 15 minutes. The carbon disulfide adsorbed to the activated charcoal is extracted with toluene and analysed by headspace gas chromatography with flame photometric detection. The quantitative determination is based on multiple-point calibrations with an internal standard. A relative limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.5 mg/m3 is obtained for an air sample volume of 40 litres and an application volume of 18 ml. As the relative LOQ for a sample volume of 5 litres is below 5 mg/m3, the STEL can also be measured. The recovery, which has to be considered for the calculation of the results, is approx. 70% and the expanded uncertainty is below 22% for a sampling period of 2 hours and below 23% for a period of 15 minutes.
