🌿 Acetonitrile in workplace air — adsorption of vapour on activated carbon, desorption with benzene, gas chromatography; lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 15 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 70 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 140 mg/m³, "skin" notation; PN-Z-04244-2:1996 (withdrawn 07-11-2022)

Environment PN-Z-04244-2

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "This method consists of adsorption of acetonitrile vapour on activated carbon, desorption with benzene and chromatographic analysis of the resulting solution. The lowest concentration that can be determined using this method is 15 mg/m3" (our translation; spelling as on the card, no full stop at the end). We did not have the text of the standard (4 pages); the CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists no article on acetonitrile (searched on 04.10.2026).

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 5: "Acetonitrile [75-05-8]" — NDS 70 mg/m³, NDSCh 140 mg/m³, "skin" notation (according to footnote 4 of the list, absorption through the skin "may be as important as in exposure by inhalation"). The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 15 mg/m³, is about 21 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04244-2:1996 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 29-02-1996, withdrawal date 07-11-2022, 4 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 name a replacing standard. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04244" and "acetonitrylu" (04.10.2026) returns only two sheets of the series — PN-Z-04244-1:1996 (general provisions) and PN-Z-04244-2:1996 — both labelled "Withdrawn"; it shows no current standard for acetonitrile. The catalogue knows no 2006 edition.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data load up to 17.09.2026, read on 04.10.2026). The number 04244-2 (with a hyphen, dot or slash before the sheet number) appears in 7 records at 5 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 11.06.2026 to 18.08.2026 — all issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 7 rows at the same laboratories; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from the BIP found no laboratories outside the database copy; no document repeats pages. Both AB 522 items (issue no. 26 of 18.08.2026) are printed in bold italics — accreditation suspended at the body's request from 18.08.2026 to 14.02.2027. Form "PN-Z-04244-2:1996" — AB 632, AB 1642, AB 1207 (together with procedure PB-06A issue 7 of 20.01.2025) and AB 882 (two items: with PB-01 issue 5 of 12.01.2026, GC-FID; with PB-10 issue 1 of 31.08.2022, GC-MS); AB 522 writes the sheet with a leading zero and two different years: "PN-Z-04244-02:1996" (content in the sample, together with procedure PB-17-27 issue 7 of 20.06.2022 "excluding item 5.4") and "PN-Z-04244-02:2006" (concentration, with the same procedure) — likewise in the PCA document. "Laboratories" tab: "PN-Z-04244-2" shows 4 laboratories, "PN-Z-04244-02" — 1 (AB 522), 5 in total, the same in the copy and on the production server labcoda.pl (tab queries of 04.10.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air, at some laboratories samples collected on sorbent tubes or solid sorbent; at AB 1207 the object recorded in the copy covers, besides the working environment, also samples of ambient and indoor air. Quantity: concentration (content) of acetonitrile. Ranges in mg/m³: 0.33–670 (AB 1207, GC-MS), 0.46–925.33 (AB 522, suspended), 4.7–300 (AB 1642), 4.9–1230 (AB 882, GC-FID), 6.28–1757 (AB 882, GC-MS), 7.0–280 (AB 632); AB 522 — also 8.3–16656 µg in the sample. Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — AB 522, AB 632, AB 1642 and an AB 882 item; with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) — AB 1207 and the other AB 882 item.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 07-11-2022, and the PKN search shows no other standard for acetonitrile; 5 laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2026. Second — desorbent: according to the card acetonitrile is desorbed with benzene; whether the laboratories use this solvent does not follow from the scopes — the GC-MS items (AB 1207, AB 882) and the items with in-house procedures (AB 522, AB 882) are carried out according to those procedures. Third — limit of quantification: according to the card 15 mg/m³; all laboratories with a range in mg/m³ give a lower bottom limit (from 0.33 to 7.0 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Fourth — standard designation: the entry "PN-Z-04244-02:2006" at AB 522 does not match any edition in the PKN catalogue; both AB 522 items are suspended until 14.02.2027. Fifth — skin: 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 volume or flow rate of air sampling, the carbon mass, the volume of benzene, the column, the detector required by the standard, chromatograph conditions or calculations; we do not know the content of item 5.4 of procedure PB-17-27. We do not claim that another standard has replaced PN-Z-04244-2:1996 — PKN names none.

Method principle

Acetonitrile vapour from workplace air is adsorbed on activated carbon, desorbed with benzene, and the resulting solution is analysed chromatographically (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 70 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 140 mg/m³. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card is 15 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (07-11-2022); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — acetonitrile — in the current scopes of 5 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard (AB 522 items suspended)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 70 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 140 mg/m³, "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 5 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04244-2:1996

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości acetonitrylu — Oznaczanie acetonitrylu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for acetonitrile content — Determination of acetonitrile at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04244-2:1996 withdrawn on 07-11-2022, with no named successor (card as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Adsorption of vapour on activated carbon (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE details.

3. Desorption and analysis

   Desorption with benzene, chromatographic analysis (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 70 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 140 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 15 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Benzene as desorbent and acetonitrile ("skin" notation) — work in a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 07-11-2022; the entry "PN-Z-04244-02:2006" at AB 522 has a wrong year, both AB 522 items suspended

Frequently asked questions