🌿 Furfuryl alcohol (2-furylmethanol) in workplace air — adsorption of vapours on silica gel, extraction with acetone, gas chromatography; limit of quantification according to the standard 3 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 30 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 60 mg/m³, "skin" notation; PN-Z-04214-02:1990 (withdrawn 30-11-2010)

Environment PN-Z-04214-02

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "The method consists in the adsorption of furfuryl alcohol vapours on silica gel, extracting it with acetone and chromatographic analysis of the obtained solution. The limit of quantification of the method is 3 mg in 1 cubic metre of air" (our translation; on the card without a full stop at the end). The card does not give the detector. We did not have the text of the standard (3 pages); the CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists no article on furfuryl alcohol or 2-furylmethanol (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 274: "2-Furylmethanol [98-00-0]" — NDS 30 mg/m³, NDSCh 60 mg/m³, "skin" notation. The limit of quantification according to the card, 3 mg/m³, is 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04214-02:1990 (Polish version) carries the heading "Withdrawn": published 28-09-1990, withdrawal date 30-11-2010, 3 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 names no replacing standard. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04214" (04.10.2026) shows two sheets of the series "Tests for furfuryl alcohol content" — 01:1991 (general provisions) and 02:1990 — both labelled "Withdrawn". The search term "furylometanolu" returns no standard, and among the first 50 results for "alkoholu furfurylowego" the only standards on this substance are these two withdrawn sheets.

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 04214-02 (with a hyphen, a full stop or a slash before the sheet number) appears in 4 records at 3 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 22.07.2026 to 18.08.2026 — all issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — 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. Both items at AB 522 (issue no. 26 of 18.08.2026) are printed in bold italics — accreditation suspended at the request of the body from 18.08.2026 to 14.02.2027; in the database copy the documents carry an asterisk. The form "PN-Z-04214-02:1990" — AB 746 and AB 1642; "PN-90/Z-04214.02" — AB 522 (next to procedure PB-17-21 edition 7 of 20.06.2022, in the item on mass per sample "excluding point 5.3"). The "Laboratories" tab: "PN-Z-04214-02" shows 2 laboratories, "PN-90/Z-04214.02" — 1, the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries on 04.10.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Object: working environment — air; AB 746 — samples collected into sorbent tubes, AB 1642 — on a solid sorbent, AB 522 — in the item on mass per sample on sorbent tubes. Quantity: concentration (content) of 2-furylmethanol (furfuryl alcohol). Ranges: AB 746 — 0.062–120 mg/m³ (0.010–2.0 mg per sample); AB 1642 — 1.9–240 mg/m³ (0.019–1.2 mg per sample); AB 522 (suspended) — concentration 0.67–1365.06 mg/m³ and content 12–24 571 µg per sample. Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — all 3 laboratories.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 30-11-2010, and the reviewed PKN results show no current standard; 3 laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2026. Second — limit of quantification: according to the card 3 mg/m³; AB 1642 (1.9), AB 522 (0.67) and AB 746 (0.062 mg/m³) give a lower bottom limit, which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Third — sorbent: the card speaks of silica gel, while the scopes give generally "sorbent" or "solid sorbent" — whether the laboratory uses the sorbent of the standard does not follow from the scope. Fourth — names: the standard and laboratories write "furfuryl alcohol", the NDS list and laboratories — "2-furylmethanol"; it is the same substance (CAS 98-00-0 in the list). Fifth — skin: the NDS has the "skin" notation, and a measurement in air does not cover absorption through the skin. Sixth — suspension: both items at AB 522 suspended until 14.02.2027; AB 522 also excludes point 5.3 of its own procedure PB-17-21 — in PCA the note stands under the procedure, not under the standard.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the mass of silica gel, the volume or flow rate of air sampling, the volume of acetone, the column, the detector, the chromatograph conditions or calculations. We do not claim that another standard has replaced PN-Z-04214-02:1990 — PKN names none.

Method principle

Furfuryl alcohol vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on silica gel, extracted with acetone and the solution is analysed by gas chromatography (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 30 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 60 mg/m³ for 2-furylmethanol. Limit of quantification according to the card — 3 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (30-11-2010); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — furfuryl alcohol (2-furylmethanol) — in the current scopes of 3 laboratories (one suspended), despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 30 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 60 mg/m³, "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 274 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04214-02:1990

Title (PL)

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

Title (EN)

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

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04214-02:1990 withdrawn on 30-11-2010, with no successor named (card as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Adsorption of vapours on silica gel (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE details.

3. Extraction and analysis

   Extraction with acetone, chromatographic analysis (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 30 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 60 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)

• Furfuryl alcohol — "skin" notation in the NDS list; acetone — chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 30-11-2010 with no successor in the PKN catalogue; both items at AB 522 suspended until 14.02.2027

Frequently asked questions