🌿 Benzo(a)pyrene in workplace air — glass-fibre filter, extraction with cyclohexane, solution in acetonitrile, high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrofluorimetric (HPLC-FLD) or spectrophotometric detection; lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 0.01 µg/m³ or 0.05 µg/m³, MAC (NDS) 0.002 mg/m³ (2 µg/m³), "skin" notation; PN-Z-04240-2:1999

Environment PN-Z-04240-2

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "A method for determining benzo/a/pyrene is specified, consisting in passing the tested air through a glass-fibre filter, extracting the filter with cyclohexane, evaporating the solvent, redissolving the dry residue in acetonitrile and quantitatively determining benzo/a/pyrene by high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrofluorimetric or spectrophotometric detection. The lowest concentration of benzo/a/pyrene that can be determined by this method is 0.01 microg/m3 (spectrofluorimetric detector SF) or 0.05 microg/m3 (spectrophotometric detector UV-VIS)" (our translation; spelling as on the card, without a full stop at the end). We did not have the text of the standard (5 pages). The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists "Wielopierścieniowe węglowodory aromatyczne – nr 3(25) 2000"; 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 43: "Benzo[a]pyrene [50-32-8]" — NDS 0.002 mg/m³ (2 µg/m³), no NDSCh, "skin" notation. Item 569: "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) – as the sum of the products of concentrations and carcinogenicity factors of 9 carcinogenic PAHs" — NDS 0.002 mg/m³, "skin" notation; according to footnote 25 the carcinogenicity factor of benzo[a]pyrene is 1, of dibenzo[a,h]anthracene 5. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 0.01 µg/m³ or 0.05 µg/m³, is 0.5 % or 2.5 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04240-2:1999 (Polish version) has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Withdrawal date" line: published 09-02-1999, 5 pages, price group C, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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for "PN-Z-04240" (04.10.2026) shows the series "Tests for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content": without the label "Withdrawn" — parts 2:1999 (benzo/a/pyrene), 4:1999 (dibenzo/ah/anthracene) and 5:2006 (nine PAHs at workplaces — a separate entry of this database); labelled "Withdrawn" — 3:1999 (benzo/a/anthracene and chrysene) and 1:1996 (benzo(a)pyrene in suspended particulate matter; "Withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN 15549:2008").

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 04240-2 (with a hyphen, full stop or slash before the part number) appears in 4 records at 4 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 12.02.2026 to 22.07.2026) — 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 746 item (issue no. 38 of 22.07.2026) is printed in bold italics — accreditation suspended at the request of the body from 17.04.2026 to 16.10.2026; in the database copy the number has an asterisk ("PN-Z-04240-2:1999 *"). All records have the form "PN-Z-04240-2:1999", with no documents next to it. The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04240-2") shows all 4 laboratories — checked with a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 04.10.2026. In the PCA documents of AB 213, AB 746 and AB 886, the current part 4 of this series (dibenzo(a,h)anthracene) stands directly below benzo(a)pyrene.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Object: working environment — air; AB 213 and AB 746 — samples collected on filters, AB 719 — on filters, prepared filters or sorption tubes prepared with silica gel, AB 886 — on sorption tubes. Quantity: concentration (content) of benzo(a)pyrene. Ranges: AB 746 — 0.080–6.94 µg/m³ and 0.050–5.0 µg per sample (suspended), AB 886 — 0.00002–0.03 mg/m³ (0.02–30 µg/m³) and 0.01–22 µg per sample, AB 213 — 0.010–8.0 µg per sample, AB 719 — 0.0000050–0.00400 mg per sample. Technique: high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) — AB 213, AB 719, AB 746; AB 886 — "high-performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC)", without a detector.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — units: the NDS is in mg/m³ (0.002), the laboratories' ranges once in µg/m³ (AB 746), once in mg/m³ (AB 886), once only as mass per sample; conversion easily leads to an error of three orders of magnitude. Second — benzo(a)pyrene versus the PAH index: the list has a separate value for benzo(a)pyrene (item 43) and for the sum of nine PAHs weighted by carcinogenicity factors (item 569); the result according to this standard gives only benzo(a)pyrene — the PAH index needs all nine compounds (standard of the series — part 5). Third — detector: the card allows a spectrofluorimetric or UV-VIS detector, with determinability differing fivefold; AB 886 does not give the detector. Fourth — sampler: the card speaks of a glass-fibre filter, while AB 886 and AB 719 give sorption tubes or prepared filters — whether these are conditions of the standard does not follow from the card. Fifth — PN-Z-04240-1 (benzo(a)pyrene in suspended particulate matter) is withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN 15549:2008 — this is a different object, not workplace air. Sixth — suspension: the AB 746 item is suspended until 16.10.2026.

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 volumes of cyclohexane and acetonitrile, the column, the mobile phase, the excitation and emission wavelengths or calculations.

Method principle

Air from the workplace is passed through a glass-fibre filter; the filter is extracted with cyclohexane, the solvent evaporated, the residue dissolved in acetonitrile, and benzo(a)pyrene determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrofluorimetric or spectrophotometric detection (PKN card). The result is compared with the NDS of 0.002 mg/m³. Lowest determinable concentration according to the card — 0.01 µg/m³ (SF) or 0.05 µg/m³ (UV-VIS). WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — benzo(a)pyrene — in the current scopes of 4 laboratories (one item suspended)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 0.002 mg/m³, "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 43 of the list); the PAH index (item 569) needs all nine compounds

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04240-2:1999

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości wielopierścieniowych węglowodorów aromatycznych — Oznaczanie benzo/a/pirenu na stanowiskach pracy metodą wysokosprawnej chromatografii cieczowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content — Determination of benzo/a/pyrene at workplaces by high-performance liquid chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   Air through a glass-fibre filter (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume.

2. Extraction

   The filter is extracted with cyclohexane, the solvent evaporated, the dry residue dissolved in acetonitrile (PKN card).

3. Analysis

   HPLC with spectrofluorimetric or spectrophotometric detection (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration of benzo(a)pyrene; comparison with the NDS of 0.002 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447) — mind the units µg/m³ and mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Benzo(a)pyrene — "skin" notation in the NDS list; standards, extracts, cyclohexane and acetonitrile in a fume hood, with gloves
• TECHNICAL NOTE: a result for benzo(a)pyrene alone does not replace the PAH index (item 569); the AB 746 item is suspended until 16.10.2026

Frequently asked questions