🌿 2-Methoxyethanol (2-methoxyethyl alcohol) in workplace air — adsorption on activated carbon, extraction, gas chromatography with sample enrichment; limit of quantification according to the standard 5 mg/m³; MAC (NDS) 3 mg/m³ (1 ppm), "skin" notation; PN-Z-04167-02:1986 (withdrawn 17-10-2011)

Environment PN-Z-04167-02

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "The test method consists in the adsorption of 2-methoxyethyl alcohol vapours on activated carbon, extracting it with a solution of methyl alcohol methylene chloride and chromatographic analysis of the obtained solution. The limit of quantification of the method is 5 mg in 1 cubic metre of air" (our translation; on the card a word is missing between "metylowego" and "chlorku", which we do not supply; no full stop at the end). The card gives neither the detector, the air volume nor the composition of the extraction solution. We did not have the text of the standard (3 pages). The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists "2-Metoksyetanol – nr 1(63) 2010"; we did not read the article and give nothing from it.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 364: "2-Methoxyethanol [109-86-4]" — NDS 3 mg/m³ (1 ppm), without NDSCh, "skin" notation. The limit of quantification according to the card, 5 mg/m³, is about 167 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04167-02:1986 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 30-06-1986, withdrawal date 17-10-2011, 3 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30; the card does not indicate a replacing standard. The PKN search for "metoksyetylowego" (05.10.2026) returns two items — PN-Z-04167-01:1986 (general provisions and scope of the standard) and PN-Z-04167-02:1986 — both labelled "Withdrawn"; the systematic search term "metoksyetanolu" returns no standard.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data load up to 17.09.2026, read on 05.10.2026). The number 04167-02 (with a hyphen or a slash before the sheet number) appears in 2 records at 2 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues of 08.01.2026 and 28.07.2026 — both issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 2 rows at the same laboratories; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from the BIP found no laboratories outside the database copy; no item is suspended, and no document repeats pages. Forms: "PN-86/Z-04167/02" — AB 1144; "PN-Z-04167-02:1986" — AB 1642, next to "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy 2010, nr 1 (63) str. 169-175". "Laboratories" tab: "PN-Z-04167-02" — 1 laboratory, "PN-86/Z-04167/02" — 1, the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries on 05.10.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). AB 1144 — working environment, air, samples collected on a solid sorbent: concentration and content of 2-methoxyethanol 0.280–250 mg/m³ (0.0880–79 ppm; 0.00700–1.50 mg per sample). AB 1642 — working environment, air, samples collected on a solid sorbent: 0.10–430 mg/m³ (0.03–136 ppm; 0.0030–3.1 mg per sample). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — both laboratories.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — limit of quantification: according to the card 5 mg/m³, while the NDS is 3 mg/m³ — under the conditions of the card the method does not determine concentrations at the NDS level; AB 1144 starts its range at 0.280 mg/m³, AB 1642 at 0.10 mg/m³, which requires conditions different from those on the card — AB 1642 cites, next to the standard, an article from "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" of 2010. Second — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 17-10-2011, and both laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2026; under both names the PKN search shows no current standard for this substance. Third — name: the card speaks of 2-methoxyethyl alcohol, the NDS list and the laboratories' scopes of 2-methoxyethanol; the card gives no CAS number (the list gives 109-86-4), so the PKN catalogue has to be searched under both names. Fourth — skin: the NDS has the "skin" notation, and a measurement in air does not cover absorption through the skin.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the mass of activated carbon, the volume or flow rate of air, the composition or volume of the extraction solution, the column, the detector required by the standard, the chromatograph conditions or calculations; we do not know the content of the 2010 article. We do not state that another standard replaced PN-Z-04167-02:1986 — PKN does not indicate one.

Method principle

2-Methoxyethyl alcohol vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon, extracted with a solution involving methyl alcohol and methylene chloride and the solution is analysed chromatographically (PKN card). The result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 3 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); limit of quantification according to the card — 5 mg/m³, i.e. above the NDS. The standard is withdrawn (17-10-2011); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — 2-methoxyethanol — in the current scopes of 2 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 3 mg/m³ (1 ppm), "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 364 of the list) — the limit of quantification on the card is higher than the NDS

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04167-02:1986

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości alkoholu metoksyetylowego — Oznaczanie alkoholu 2-metoksyetylowego na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z wzbogacaniem próbki

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for methoxyethyl alcohol content — Determination of 2-methoxyethyl alcohol at workplaces by gas chromatography with sample enrichment

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04167-02:1986 withdrawn on 17-10-2011, with no indicated successor (card as of 05.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Adsorption of 2-methoxyethyl alcohol vapours on activated carbon (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume.

3. Extraction and analysis

   Extraction with a solution containing methyl alcohol and methylene chloride, chromatographic analysis of the solution (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 3 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447) — at the card's limit of quantification of 5 mg/m³ a result "below the limit of quantification" does not decide compliance with the NDS; "skin" notation — a measurement in air does not cover the dermal route.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• 2-Methoxyethanol — "skin" notation in the NDS list; methyl alcohol and methylene chloride — chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the limit of quantification on the card (5 mg/m³) is higher than the NDS (3 mg/m³); standard withdrawn on 17-10-2011 with no successor in the PKN catalogue

Frequently asked questions