🌿 4-Methylpentan-2-one (methyl isobutyl ketone, MIBK) in workplace air — adsorption on activated carbon, desorption with a solution of methanol in carbon disulfide, gas chromatography, PN-Z-04372

Environment PN-Z-04372

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full (our translation): "A method is given consisting in the adsorption of 4-methylpentan-2-one vapours on activated carbon, desorption of the compound with a solution of methanol in carbon disulfide and analysis of the resulting solution by gas chromatography. The lowest concentration of 4-methylpentan -2-one that can be determined by this method is 8 mg/m3" (the space in the name as on the card). The card does not give the detector, the air volume and flow, the composition of the desorption solution, the column or the calibration. We did not have the text of the standard (7 pages).

LIMIT VALUES. According to the regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 26 March 2026 (Journal of Laws 2026, item 447, annex, item 389), for 4-methylpentan-2-one [108-10-1] the NDS is 83 mg/m³ and the NDSCh 200 mg/m³; the list gives no "skin" notation for it.

STATUS (state of the cards on 29–30 September 2026). The card of PN-Z-04372:2009 (Polish version) has no "Withdrawn" header — the standard is CURRENT: published 25-02-2009, 7 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 for Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30; a national standard, without "Introduces" and "Replaces" fields. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04372" (29 September 2026) shows only this one edition. An older standard for this substance — PN-Z-04165-02:1986 "Air purity protection — Tests for methyl butyl ketone content — Determination of methyl isobutyl ketone at workplaces by gas chromatography with sample enrichment" — is WITHDRAWN: the card (Polish version, read on 30 September 2026) gives publication 23-05-1986, "Withdrawal date: 17-10-2011", 3 pages, no "Replaced by" field, and in the "Scope" field: adsorption of the vapours on activated carbon, extraction with acetone, chromatographic analysis, determinability 50 mg/m³. Sheet 01 of that series is also withdrawn, while sheet PN-Z-04165-3:2001 (hexan-2-one) is current.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation-scope database, data loaded up to 17 September 2026, read on 29 September 2026). All notations of number 04372: 12 entries at 11 laboratories (the copy splits the entry of AB 1144 into two records); everywhere "PN-Z-04372:2009". A procedure alongside the standard — AB 300 (IN-59 issue 3 of 18.12.2025), AB 562 (PB_42 edition 5 of 2022-08-16), AB 882 (PB-01 issue 5 of 12.01.2026 and PB-10 issue 1 of 31.08.2022), AB 1207 (PB-06A issue 7 of 20.01.2025) and AB 1854 (work instruction IR-23 issue 3 of 05.01.2023). The "Laboratories" tab searches for notations BEGINNING WITH "PN-Z-04372" and will show all 11 laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 30 September 2026: 11. Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 29 September 2026, issues from 24.11.2025 to 08.09.2026): all entries stand in the valid issues, every pair of range numbers from the copy occurs in the current document and no entry is suspended.

SUBJECT, TECHNIQUE AND RANGES. Workplace air — all 11 laboratories; AB 1207 also ambient and indoor air. Technique: GC-FID — 10 laboratories; GC-MS — AB 1207 and the second entry of AB 882. Concentration ranges: lower limits from 0.050 mg/m³ (AB 1642) and 0.17 mg/m³ (AB 1207) to 5 mg/m³ (AB 562) and 8.3 mg/m³ (AB 632); upper limits from 400 mg/m³ (AB 632, AB 1144) to 4000 mg/m³ (AB 562) and 4533 mg/m³ (AB 882); AB 719 and AB 1854 give only the mass in the sample — (0.0050 – 19.0) mg and (75 – 2000) μg. According to the card the lowest determinable concentration is 8 mg/m³ — 8 of the 9 laboratories giving a concentration range have a lower limit below it (all except AB 632).

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. 4-Methylpentan-2-one in workplace air is determined without this standard by 11 laboratories: according to the withdrawn PN-Z-04165-02:1986 — AB 340 ((0.90 – 1440.0) mg/m³) and AB 746 (notation "PN-86/Z-04165.02", (0.62 – 400) mg/m³); according to the method from the quarterly "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" 2001, 4 (30) and procedure PB-17-27 — AB 522; according to NIOSH Method 1300 Issue 2 (1994), together with acetone — AB 1226; according to in-house procedures — AB 481 (TSO/PB-08), AB 863 (PB-07), AB 869 (EKOLAB/LB/PB-08), AB 875 (PB 025), AB 940 (PB-13 and PB-23) and AB 1072 (M/24/6/2025); in a flexible scope — AB 934; AB 719 additionally has MIBK in GC-MS identification according to PA-52. At two of these laboratories the entries are SUSPENDED: both entries of AB 522 from 18.08.2026 to 14.02.2027 and the entry of AB 1226 from 10.06.2026 to 07.12.2026 (bold italics and footnote in the current PCA documents, read on 29–30 September 2026); the other rows stand without suspension. Beware of a similar name: PN-Z-04368:2008 concerns a different substance — 4-hydroxy-4-methylpentan-2-one (according to its card: activated carbon, desorption with a solution of isopropanol in carbon disulfide, determinability 24 mg/m³); it is cited by 6 laboratories (AB 632, AB 746, AB 849, AB 882, AB 1207, AB 1642). The same scopes contain PN-Z-04119-10 (at 8 of these 11 laboratories), PN-Z-04449 (at 8), PN-Z-04304 (at 7) and PN-Z-04178-02 (at 6) — each has a separate entry in the Knowledge Base.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. The card gives a determinability of 8 mg/m³, i.e. close to one tenth of the NDS (83 mg/m³), while 8 of 9 laboratories start their range lower, even at 0.050 mg/m³ — a result from the lower part of such a range relies on the laboratory's conditions, not on the standard itself. Second, similar names: 4-methylpentan-2-one (MIBK), 4-hydroxy-4-methylpentan-2-one (PN-Z-04368) and 4-methylpentan-2-ol have separate NDS items and separate methods — in the report the full name and CAS number [108-10-1] count. Third, the same substance also stands in the scopes according to the withdrawn PN-Z-04165-02:1986 — with extraction with acetone and a determinability of 50 mg/m³ according to its card, while AB 340 gives a range from 0.90 mg/m³ with it and AB 746 from 0.62 mg/m³; ask about the document and the limit of quantification.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — PKN makes it available for a fee (7 pages). We do not give the air volume and flow, the amount of carbon, the methanol concentration in the desorption solution, the column and separation conditions, the detector, calibration, formula or precision.

Method principle

According to the PKN card, 4-methylpentan-2-one vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon, the compound is desorbed with a solution of methanol in carbon disulfide and the resulting solution is analysed by gas chromatography; the lowest determinable concentration is 8 mg/m³. We DO NOT GIVE the air volume, the composition of the solution or the separation conditions — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• 4-Methylpentan-2-one (MIBK) in workplace air — in the scopes of 11 laboratories (NDS 83 mg/m³, NDSCh 200 mg/m³)
• Ambient and indoor air — AB 1207 (GC-MS)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04372:2009 (wersja polska)

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Oznaczanie 4-metylopentan-2-onu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Determination of 4-methylpentan-2-one at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Document status

   PKN card: PN-Z-04372:2009 current (state of the card on 29 September 2026); the older PN-Z-04165-02:1986 withdrawn.

2. Sampling

   Adsorption of the vapours on activated carbon; we DO NOT GIVE the air volume and flow.

3. Desorption

   With a solution of methanol in carbon disulfide (PKN card); we DO NOT GIVE the composition and volume.

4. Analysis

   Gas chromatography; lowest determinable concentration 8 mg/m³; in the scopes — FID or MS.

5. Result

   Concentration in mg/m³ for comparison with NDS 83 mg/m³ and NDSCh 200 mg/m³; we DO NOT GIVE the formula.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Carbon disulfide and methanol are flammable and toxic — preparing the solution and desorption in an efficient fume hood, away from ignition sources
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: 4-methylpentan-2-one, 4-hydroxy-4-methylpentan-2-one and 4-methylpentan-2-ol are different substances with different standards and NDS — check the name and CAS number in the report

Frequently asked questions