🌿 Acrylamide in workplace air — high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection (HPLC-UV); lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 0.007 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 0.07 mg/m³, "skin" notation; PN-Z-04486:2017-10

Environment PN-Z-04486

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "This standard gives a method for determining acrylamide (CAS no.: 79-06-1) in workplace air using high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection. The method is used in the inspection of sanitary and hygienic conditions. The lowest concentration of acrylamide that can be determined under the air sampling and determination conditions described in the standard is 0.007 mg/m3" (our translation). The card gives neither the sampling method nor the air volume. We did not have the text of the standard (8 pages). The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists "Akrylamid – nr 1(87) 2016"; we did not read the article and give nothing from it.

NDS VALUE (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 8: "Acrylamide [79-06-1]" — NDS 0.07 mg/m³, no NDSCh, "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, 0.007 mg/m³, is 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04486:2017-10 (Polish version) has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Withdrawal date" line: published 20-10-2017, 8 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 has no "Replaces" field. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04486" and "akrylamidu" (04.10.2026) returns only this 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 04486 appears in 4 records at 4 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 26.01.2026 to 17.09.2026) — in 4 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. The AB 1226 item (issue no. 26 of 17.09.2026) is printed in bold italics — accreditation suspended at the request of the body from 10.06.2026 to 07.12.2026; in the database copy the object has an asterisk next to it. All records have the form "PN-Z-04486:2017-10", with no documents next to it. The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04486") shows all 4 laboratories — checked with a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air; AB 418, AB 849 and AB 875 — air samples collected into an absorbing solution, AB 1226 — without a note. Quantity: concentration (content) of acrylamide (at AB 418 "akrylamidu (akryloamidu)"). Ranges in mg/m³: 0.0042–0.42 (AB 418), 0.0068–2.7 (AB 875), 0.007–0.140 (AB 849), 0.0070–0.14 (AB 1226, suspended); per sample from 0.00050 mg (AB 418). Technique: high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection — HPLC-UV-VIS (AB 418), HPLC-UV/Vis (AB 849), HPLC-UV (AB 875), HPLC UV (AB 1226).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — limit of quantification: according to the card 0.007 mg/m³; AB 849 and AB 1226 give this limit, AB 875 0.0068 and AB 418 0.0042 mg/m³, which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Second — skin: the NDS has a "skin" notation, and a measurement in air does not cover absorption through the skin. Third — upper limits of the ranges: at AB 849 and AB 1226 it is 0.14 mg/m³, i.e. twice the NDS, at AB 418 0.42 mg/m³, at AB 875 2.7 mg/m³; at high concentrations it matters at which laboratory the result falls within the accredited range. Fourth — suspension: the AB 1226 item is suspended until 07.12.2026.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard, and the card does not give the sampling method — we do not give the absorbing solution, the volume or flow rate of air sampling, the column, the mobile phase, the wavelength or calculations; we do not know the content of the 2016 CIOP article.

Method principle

Acrylamide in workplace air is determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 0.07 mg/m³. Lowest determinable concentration according to the card — 0.007 mg/m³. WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard; three laboratories collect samples into an absorbing solution.

Applications

• Workplace air — acrylamide — in the current scopes of 4 laboratories (one item suspended)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 0.07 mg/m³, "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 8 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04486:2017-10

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Oznaczanie akrylamidu na stanowiskach pracy metodą wysokosprawnej chromatografii cieczowej z detekcją spektrofotometryczną

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Determination of acrylamide at workplaces by high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   WE DO NOT GIVE the method of the standard — the card does not give it; in the scopes of three laboratories — absorbing solution.

2. Sample preparation

   WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions — we did not have the text of the standard.

3. Analysis

   High-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 0.07 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 0.007 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Acrylamide — "skin" notation in the NDS list; work with standards in a fume hood, with gloves, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: a bottom limit below 0.007 mg/m³ requires conditions different from those in the standard; the AB 1226 item is suspended until 07.12.2026

Frequently asked questions