🌿 Buta-1,3-diene (butadiene) in workplace air — gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID); lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 0.22 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 2.2 mg/m³ (1 ppm); PN-Z-04438:2021-07

Environment PN-Z-04438

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "This standard gives a method for determining buta-1,3-diene (CAS no.: 106-99-0) in workplace air using gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection. The method is used in the inspection of sanitary and hygienic conditions. The lowest concentration of buta-1,3-diene that can be determined under the air sampling and determination conditions described in the standard is 0.22 mg/m3" (our translation; on the card without a full stop at the end). The card gives neither the sorbent, the solvent nor the air volume. We did not have the text of the standard (8 pages). The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists "Buta-1,3-dien – nr 1(59) 2009"; 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 68: "Buta-1,3-diene" — NDS 2.2 mg/m³ (1 ppm), no NDSCh and no "skin" notation. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 0.22 mg/m³, is 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04438:2021-07 (Polish version) has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Withdrawal date" line: published 01-07-2021, 8 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30, "Replaces PN-Z-04438:2011". The PKN search for "PN-Z-04438" (04.10.2026) shows two items: PN-Z-04438:2021-07 without the label "Withdrawn" and PN-Z-04438:2011 ("Determination of buta-1,3-diene at workplaces by gas chromatography") labelled "Withdrawn and replaced by PN-Z-04438:2021-07". The card of the 2011 edition (published 13-09-2011, withdrawal date 01-07-2021, 7 pages) described adsorption of vapours on activated carbon, desorption with carbon disulphide and gas chromatography, with a lowest determinable concentration of 0.44 mg/m³; the card of the 2021 edition does not give these details, and we do not describe the differences between the editions. Under "butadienu" the search shows the older series "Tests for butadiene content": PN-Z-04014-00:1984 (general provisions) and PN-Z-04014-02:1984 — both labelled "Withdrawn". Card of PN-Z-04014-02:1984 ("Determination of 1,3-butadiene at workplaces by gas chromatography"): published 07-03-1984, withdrawal date 07-07-2015, 4 pages, no replacing standard named; scope in full: "Two methods of determination are specified: method A - gas chromatography with sample enrichment; method B - gas chromatography without sample enrichment. The methods are used for testing workplace air when carrying out 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).

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 04438 appears in 5 records at 4 laboratories — all with the year 2021; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 24.03.2026 to 30.07.2026) — in 5 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-04438:2021-07" — AB 484, AB 1207 (next to procedure PB-06K edition 3 of 20.01.2025) and AB 882 (next to procedure PB-01 edition 5 of 12.01.2026, GC-FID); the second item of AB 882 (next to PB-10 edition 1 of 31.08.2022, GC-MS) reads "PN-Z-04438:2021:07" — with a colon instead of a hyphen, the same in the PCA document; AB 1168 — "PN-Z-04438:2021" (without the month). The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04438") shows all 4 laboratories — checked with a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 04.10.2026. The WITHDRAWN PN-Z-04014-02:1984 appears in the database copy in 3 records at 3 laboratories (3 rows in PCA, issues from 16.06.2026 to 30.07.2026): AB 484 ("PN-84/Z-04014.02", 0.13–6.67 mg/m³ — this laboratory also has an item with PN-Z-04438:2021-07), AB 869 ("PN-84/Z-04014-02", 0.005–15 mg per sample) and AB 1642 ("PN-84-Z-04014/02" next to the article "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy 2017 nr 1(95), s. 73-85", 0.175–600 mg/m³); all with GC-FID.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air; AB 1207 — samples collected on activated carbon tubes, and the object also covers ambient and indoor air. Quantity: concentration (content) of buta-1,3-diene (at AB 882 and AB 1207 under the name "butadiene"). Ranges in mg/m³: 0.055–167 (AB 1207, GC-MS), 0.194–7.3 (AB 882, GC-MS), 0.20–8.9 (AB 882, GC-FID), 0.22–4.44 (AB 484), 0.44–8.77 (AB 1168); three items also give the range in ppm. Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — AB 484, AB 1168 and one item of AB 882; with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) — AB 1207 and the second item of AB 882.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — which standard: according to its card the withdrawn PN-Z-04014-02:1984 (AB 484, AB 869, AB 1642) has a determinability of 30 mg/m³, i.e. more than thirteen times the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³; a result according to it does not allow exposure to be assessed at the NDS level, and the bottom limits of these laboratories (from 0.13 mg/m³) require conditions entirely different from those of that standard — the report should cite the standard actually applied. Second — limit of quantification of the new standard: according to the card 0.22 mg/m³; AB 484 gives this limit, AB 1168 a higher one (0.44 mg/m³, the same as the card of the 2011 edition), and AB 1207 (0.055), AB 882 (0.194 and 0.20) a lower one, which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Third — units: the NDS is given in mg/m³ and in ppm (2.2 mg/m³ = 1 ppm); three of the laboratories' items have a range in ppm — the conversion must be stated. Fourth — detector: the title and the card speak of GC-FID, while the GC-MS items (AB 882, AB 1207) are run according to in-house procedures, with the standard alongside. Fifth — object: at AB 1207 the same item covers ambient and indoor air, for which the NDS is not a reference value. Sixth — designation of the standard: the record "PN-Z-04438:2021:07" at AB 882 is a typo in the edition designation; the tab finds it under the search term without the year.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard, and the card gives neither the sorbent nor the solvent — we do not give the volume or flow rate of air sampling, the sorbent, the desorption solvent, the column, the chromatograph conditions or calculations; we do not describe how the 2021 edition differs from the 2011 edition.

Method principle

Buta-1,3-diene in workplace air is determined by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³ (1 ppm). Lowest determinable concentration according to the card — 0.22 mg/m³. WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard, and the card gives neither the sorbent nor the solvent.

Applications

• Workplace air — buta-1,3-diene — in the current scopes of 4 laboratories (5 items)
• 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)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04438:2021-07

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Oznaczanie buta-1,3-dienu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z detekcją płomieniowo-jonizacyjną

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Determination of buta-1,3-diene at workplaces by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   WE DO NOT GIVE the method of the standard — the card gives neither the sorbent nor the volume.

2. Sample preparation

   WE DO NOT GIVE the solvent or the desorption conditions.

3. Analysis

   Gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³ (or ppm); comparison with the NDS of 2.2 mg/m³ = 1 ppm (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 0.22 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Buta-1,3-diene standards and solvents — in a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the withdrawn PN-Z-04014-02:1984, still in 3 scopes, has a determinability of 30 mg/m³ — above the NDS; the record "PN-Z-04438:2021:07" at AB 882 is an incorrect edition designation

Frequently asked questions