🌿 Acrylaldehyde (acrolein) in workplace air — chemisorption on silica gel coated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, extraction of the derivative with acetonitrile, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 0.0125 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 0.05 mg/m³, NDSCh 0.1 mg/m³, "skin" notation; PN-Z-04045-16:2010 (withdrawn 03-11-2021)

Environment PN-Z-04045-16

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN catalogue card, in full (our translation): "A method is given consisting in chemisorption of acrylaldehyde on silica gel coated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, extraction of the derivative obtained with acetonitrile and analysis of the extract obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography. The lowest concentration of acrylaldehyde that can be determined by this method is 0.0125 mg/m3" (no full stop at the end on the card). We did not have the text of the standard (7 pages). The CIOP index of methods for 2000–2017 records a method for acrylaldehyde in "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" no. 4(38) of 2003; we did not read that article (access via BazTech requires passing a captcha test), so we give nothing from it.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 7: "Acrylaldehyde [107-02-8]" — NDS 0.05 mg/m³ (0.02 ppm), NDSCh 0.1 mg/m³ (0.04 ppm), "skin" notation (according to footnote 4 of the list, absorption through the skin "may be as significant as in exposure by inhalation"). The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 0.0125 mg/m³, is 25 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04045-16:2010 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 16-11-2010, withdrawal date 03-11-2021, 7 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 The PKN search for "PN-Z-04045-16" and "akrylaldehydu" (acrylaldehyde) (04.10.2026) returns only this withdrawn standard.

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 04045-16 appears in 10 records at 7 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 26.01.2026 to 30.07.2026 — all issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 7 rows at the same laboratories (the copy splits the AB 886 item into four records); 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. Form "PN-Z-04045-16:2010" — 6 laboratories; AB 849 writes "PN-Z 04045-16:2010" (space instead of hyphen). The "Laboratories" tab (query "PN-Z-04045-16") shows 6 laboratories; AB 849 is found only under the query "PN-Z 04045-16" — 7 in total, the same in the copy and on the production server labcoda.pl (tab queries on 04.10.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA). Object: working environment — air, samples collected on sorbent tubes; at AB 719 in a group of items with samples collected on filters, prepared filters, prepared sorbent tubes with silica gel or into bubblers. Quantity: concentration (content) of acrylaldehyde (acrolein). Ranges in mg/m³: 0.0029–1.41 (AB 882, also 0.00124–0.60 ppm), 0.003–2.7 (AB 886), 0.0033–10 (AB 481), 0.005–2.5 (AB 1302, also 0.0021–1.1 ppm), 0.009–0.250 (AB 849); per sample: 0.00040–0.0400 mg (AB 719), 0.15–3.5 µg (AB 869). Technique: HPLC with spectrophotometric detection (UV, UV-Vis) — AB 849, AB 869, AB 882, AB 886, AB 1302; HPLC with diode array detection (DAD) — AB 481 and AB 719.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 03-11-2021 and the card indicates no successor; the laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2026 — the customer should know that the result is produced according to a standard withdrawn from the PKN catalogue. Second — limit of quantification: according to the card the lowest concentration determinable by this method is 0.0125 mg/m³; five laboratories state a lower bottom limit (from 0.0029 to 0.009 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Third — units: the NDS is given in the list in mg/m³ and ppm (0.05 mg/m³ and 0.02 ppm); two laboratories also give the range in ppm. Fourth — search: the form "PN-Z 04045-16" (AB 849) is not found under the query with a hyphen. Fifth — skin and NDSCh: measurement in air does not cover absorption through the skin; WE DO NOT GIVE the measurement conditions against the NDSCh of 0.1 mg/m³.

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 type or amount of sorbent, the volume of acetonitrile, the column, the mobile phase, the wavelength, chromatograph conditions or calculations. We do not claim that another standard or method has replaced PN-Z-04045-16:2010 — PKN indicates none.

Method principle

Acrylaldehyde from workplace air is chemically bound (chemisorption) on silica gel coated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine; the derivative formed is extracted with acetonitrile and the extract is analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 0.05 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 0.1 mg/m³; lowest determinable concentration according to the card — 0.0125 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (03-11-2021); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — acrylaldehyde (acrolein) — in the current scopes of 7 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 0.05 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 0.1 mg/m³, "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 7 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04045-16:2010

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości aldehydów — Część 16: Oznaczanie akrylaldehydu na stanowiskach pracy metodą wysokosprawnej chromatografii cieczowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for aldehydes — Part 16: Determination of acrylaldehyde at workplaces by high performance liquid chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04045-16:2010 withdrawn 03-11-2021, no successor indicated (card as of 04.10.2026); worth recording in the report.

2. Sampling

   Chemisorption of acrylaldehyde on silica gel with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine; WE DO NOT GIVE details.

3. Extraction and analysis

   Extraction of the derivative with acetonitrile, HPLC; WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 0.05 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 0.1 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 0.0125 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Acetonitrile as extraction solvent — work under a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 03-11-2021; a bottom limit below 0.0125 mg/m³ requires conditions different from those in the standard

Frequently asked questions