🌿 Buta-1,3-diene (1,3-butadiene) in workplace air — gas chromatography with sample enrichment (method A) or without enrichment (method B); limit of quantification according to the standard 30 mg/m³; MAC (NDS) 2.2 mg/m³ (1 ppm); PN-Z-04014-02:1984 (withdrawn 07-07-2015)

Environment PN-Z-04014-02

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "Two determination methods are specified: method A — gas chromatography with sample enrichment; method B — gas chromatography without sample enrichment. The methods are used for testing workplace air during sanitary and hygienic inspection. The smallest amount of 1,3-butadiene that can be determined by these methods is 30 milligrams per cubic metre of air" (our translation; spelling as on the card, no full stop at the end). The card does not give the sorbent, the detector or the air volume. We did not have the text of the standard (4 pages). The CIOP method index lists the article "Buta-1,3-dien" in the quarterly "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" No. 1(59) of 2009 — we have not read it; nor have we read the article in No. 1(95) of 2017 cited by AB 1642.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 68: "Buta-1,3-diene [106-99-0]" — NDS 2.2 mg/m³ (1 ppm), no NDSCh, no "skin" notation and no note on the fraction (the CAS number stands in the list on the next line, after a page break); the substance is not covered by the transitional provisions of § 2. The limit of quantification according to the card of this standard, 30 mg/m³, is about 14 times the NDS; according to the card of PN-Z-04438:2021-07 it is 0.22 mg/m³, i.e. 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (cards as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04014-02:1984 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn" without naming a replacing standard: publication 07-03-1984, withdrawal date 07-07-2015, 4 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT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 of PN-Z-04438:2021-07 ("… Determination of buta-1,3-diene at workplaces by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection") has no heading "Withdrawn": publication 01-07-2021, 8 pages, "Replaces: PN-Z-04438:2011", limit of quantification 0.22 mg/m³; it is described in a separate entry of this database. PKN search (05.10.2026): under "PN-Z-04014" — 2 parts of the series "Tests for butadiene content": -00:1984 (general provisions and scope) and -02:1984, both labelled "Withdrawn"; under "butadienu" — this series and the withdrawn series PN-Z-04192 on 1,3-hexachlorobutadiene; under "buta-1,3-dienu" — PN-Z-04438:2021-07, the withdrawn PN-Z-04438:2011 and PN-Z-04391:2010 (2-chlorobuta-1,3-diene).

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read on 05.10.2026). Number 04014-02 appears in 3 records at 3 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 16.06.2026 to 30.07.2026) — in 3 rows at the same laboratories; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from the BIP found no laboratories outside the database copy; none of these entries is suspended (in the AB 484 document a different part of the scope is suspended), and no pages are repeated in any document. Notations: "PN-84/Z-04014.02" — AB 484; "PN-84/Z-04014-02" — AB 869; "PN-84-Z-04014/02" — AB 1642, alongside the article "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy 2017 nr 1(95), s. 73-85". The "Laboratories" tab searches for records beginning with the term entered: each of the three notations shows 1 laboratory, and the term "PN-Z-04014-02" — none; the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries on 05.10.2026). AB 484 has a separate entry with PN-Z-04438:2021-07 (0.22–4.44 mg/m³); according to the database copy the current standard is in the scopes of 4 laboratories (AB 484, AB 882, AB 1168, AB 1207).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Subject: working environment — air; AB 1642 — samples collected on a solid sorbent. Quantity: concentration (content) of buta-1,3-diene. Ranges: AB 484 — 0.13–6.67 mg/m³ (0.06–2.97 ppm; 0.004–0.150 mg per sample); AB 1642 — 0.175–600 mg/m³ (0.08–267 ppm; 0.00118–0.60 mg per sample); AB 869 — 0.005–15 mg per sample (no range in mg/m³ is given). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — all three.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — limit of quantification versus NDS: according to the card the smallest determinable amount is 30 mg/m³, more than thirteen times the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³; the method described in the standard cannot assess exposure at the NDS level. The lower limits of AB 484 (0.13 mg/m³) and AB 1642 (0.175 mg/m³) require conditions entirely different from those on the card — the report should name them. Second — withdrawn standard: this standard has not been valid since 07-07-2015, and the current PN-Z-04438:2021-07 gives a limit of quantification of 0.22 mg/m³; AB 484 has both standards in separate entries — the report should state which one was used. Third — which of the two methods: the standard contains methods A and B, and no laboratory states in its scope which one it uses. Fourth — searching: the term "PN-Z-04014-02" shows no laboratory; each of the three old notations must be entered separately.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the sorbent, the solvent, the volume or flow rate of the air sample, the detector according to the standard, the column, the chromatograph conditions or the calculations. We do not claim that PN-Z-04438 replaced this standard — the cards do not say so. We do not give the content of the CIOP articles of 2009 and 2017 — we have not read them.

Method principle

1,3-Butadiene (buta-1,3-diene) in workplace air is determined by gas chromatography — by method A with sample enrichment or method B without enrichment (PKN card); smallest determinable amount according to the card — 30 mg/m³. The result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³ (1 ppm) (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447) — the limit of quantification on the card is more than thirteen times the NDS. The standard has been withdrawn since 07-07-2015; the current standard for this substance is PN-Z-04438:2021-07.

Applications

• Workplace air — buta-1,3-diene — in the current scopes of 3 laboratories despite the withdrawal of the standard (the current PN-Z-04438:2021-07 — at 4, including AB 484)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³ (1 ppm) (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 68 of the list) — below the limit of quantification on the card of this standard

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04014-02:1984

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości butadienu — Oznaczanie butadienu-1,3 na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for butadiene content — Determination of 1,3-butadiene at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Choice of method

   Method A (with sample enrichment) or method B (without enrichment) (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the selection criteria.

2. Sampling

   WE DO NOT GIVE details — the card does not describe them.

3. Analysis

   Gas chromatography (PKN card); in the scopes — GC-FID; WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration of buta-1,3-diene in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447) — the limit of quantification on the card (30 mg/m³) does not allow this.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Buta-1,3-diene — safety rules of the chemical laboratory
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the limit of quantification on the card (30 mg/m³) is more than thirteen times the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³; standard withdrawn since 07-07-2015 — the current PN-Z-04438:2021-07 has a limit of quantification of 0.22 mg/m³

Frequently asked questions