🌿 Acrylaldehyde (acrolein) in workplace air — adsorption of vapours on activated carbon, gas chromatography with sample enrichment; the PKN card gives no limit of quantification; MAC (NDS) 0.05 mg/m³ (0.02 ppm), STEL (NDSCh) 0.1 mg/m³, "skin" notation; PN-Z-04045-06:1982 (withdrawn 27-11-2012)

Environment PN-Z-04045-06

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "A method is given consisting in the adsorption of acrolein vapours on activated carbon and chromatographic examination of the obtained solution. The method is used for determining the concentration of acrolein vapours in air at workplaces. Apparatus and instruments, chromatograph operating conditions, the method of preparing reagents and solutions, sampling and the preparation of the calibration curve are specified" (our translation; on the card without a full stop at the end; the title reads "z wzbogaceniem próbki"). The card gives neither the solvent, the detector nor the lowest determinable concentration. We did not have the text of the standard (3 pages). The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists "Akrylaldehyd – nr 4(38) 2003"; 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 7: "Acrylaldehyde [107-02-8]" — NDS 0.05 mg/m³ (0.02 ppm), NDSCh 0.1 mg/m³ (0.04 ppm), "skin" notation.

STATUS (card as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04045-06:1982 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 21-09-1982, withdrawal date 27-11-2012, 3 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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. PKN search (05.10.2026): the term "akroleiny" returns four standards — PN-Z-04054:1958, PN-Z-04054:1969, PN-Z-04045-06:1982 and PN-Z-04045-11:1994 (HPLC) — all labelled "Withdrawn"; the term "akrylaldehydu" — only the withdrawn PN-Z-04045-16:2010 (HPLC, a separate entry of this database); the systematic term "prop-2-enalu" — no standard. Under "PN-Z-04045" all sheets of the series "Tests for aldehyde content" are visible; of the current ones only parts 12 (formaldehyde), 13 (acetaldehyde) and 14 (n-hexanal).

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 04045-06 appears in 2 records at 2 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues of 28.07.2026 and 17.09.2026 — 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. The form "PN-Z-04045-06:1982" — AB 940 and AB 1642, without procedures. The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04045-06") shows both laboratories — checked with a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 05.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (PCA documents and database copy). AB 940 — working environment, air: concentration of acrylaldehyde 0.004–20.0 mg/m³ (0.0017–8.61 ppm) according to PCA document issue no. 21 of 17.09.2026; the database copy gives a bottom limit of 0.006 mg/m³. AB 1642 — air samples collected on a solid sorbent: concentration and content of acrylaldehyde (acrolein) 0.0040–4.10 mg/m³ (0.01–1.76 ppm; 0.000240–0.030 mg per sample). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — both laboratories.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 27-11-2012, and both laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2026; under the search terms "akroleiny", "akrylaldehydu" and "prop-2-enalu" the PKN search shows no current standard for this substance — the later PN-Z-04045-11:1994 and PN-Z-04045-16:2010 are also withdrawn. Second — limit of quantification: the card does not give it, and the NDS is very low (0.05 mg/m³); the laboratories' bottom limits (0.004 mg/m³) cannot be compared with the standard. Third — data discrepancy: for AB 940 the database copy has 0.006 mg/m³, while the current PCA document has 0.004 mg/m³; the PCA document is binding. Fourth — names: the standard writes "acrolein", the NDS list "acrylaldehyde". Fifth — 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 sampling, the solvent, the column, the detector, the chromatograph conditions, the calibration curve, the limit of quantification or calculations; we do not know the content of the 2003 CIOP article. We do not state that another standard replaced PN-Z-04045-06:1982 — PKN does not indicate one.

Method principle

Acrolein vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon and the obtained solution is examined chromatographically (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 0.05 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 0.1 mg/m³ for acrylaldehyde (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). The standard is withdrawn (27-11-2012); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — acrylaldehyde (acrolein) — in the current scopes of 2 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-04045-06:1982

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości aldehydów — Oznaczanie akroleiny na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z wzbogaceniem próbki

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for aldehyde content — Determination of acrolein at workplaces by gas chromatography with sample enrichment

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04045-06:1982 withdrawn on 27-11-2012, with no indicated successor (card as of 05.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Adsorption of acrolein vapours on activated carbon (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume.

3. Analysis

   Chromatographic examination of the obtained solution (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the solvent or 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); "skin" notation — a measurement in air does not cover the dermal route.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Acrylaldehyde — "skin" notation in the NDS list; chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 27-11-2012; under three names of the substance the PKN search shows no current standard for acrylaldehyde

Frequently asked questions