🌿 Butan-2-ol (sec-butyl alcohol) in workplace air — adsorption of vapours on activated charcoal, desorption with a solution of isopropyl alcohol in carbon disulphide, chromatographic analysis; limit of quantification of the method according to the standard 70 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 300 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 450 mg/m³; PN-Z-04155-4:1996 (withdrawn 22-11-2022)

Environment PN-Z-04155-4

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN catalogue card, in full (our translation): "The method consists in the adsorption of sec-butyl alcohol vapours on activated charcoal, desorption with a solution of isopropyl alcohol in carbon disulphide and chromatographic analysis of the solution obtained. The limit of quantification of the method is 70 mg/m3" (no full stop at the end on the card; the card uses the older Polish name "dwusiarczek węgla", in the Polish entry we write "disiarczek węgla", as in the list and in newer PKN cards). We did not have the text of the standard (5 pages); we did not find a CIOP article with a method for butan-2-ol (index of methods from 2000–2017, search on 04.10.2026).

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 71: "Butan-2-ol [78-92-2]" — NDS 300 mg/m³, NDSCh 450 mg/m³, without the "skin" notation. The limit of quantification according to the card, 70 mg/m³, is about 23 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04155-4:1996 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 17-07-1996, withdrawal date 22-11-2022, 5 pages, price group C, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 does not indicate a replacing standard. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04155-4", "alkoholu sec-butylowego" (sec-butyl alcohol) and "alkoholu butylowego" (butyl alcohol) (04.10.2026) shows the whole series "Tests for butyl alcohol content" labelled "Withdrawn": PN-Z-04155-1:1996 (general provisions), PN-Z-04155-3:1994 (n-butyl alcohol, spectrophotometry), PN-Z-04155-4:1996 (sec-butyl alcohol) and PN-Z-04155-5:1996 (tert-butyl alcohol) — the search returns no current standard for butan-2-ol in workplaces.

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 04155-4 appears in 8 records at 7 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 26.11.2025 to 28.07.2026 — all issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 8 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. All entries have the form "PN-Z-04155-4:1996": AB 1207 — next to procedure PB-06A edition 7 of 20.01.2025; AB 882 — next to procedures PB-01 edition 5 of 12.01.2026 (GC-FID) and PB-10 edition 1 of 31.08.2022 (GC-MS); AB 632 — next to instruction IB-63 edition 1 of 09.01.2021. The "Laboratories" tab (query "PN-Z-04155-4") shows all 7 laboratories — checked with the tab's query on the production server labcoda.pl on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air, samples collected on sorbent tubes (AB 581 — air without addition). Quantity: concentration (content) of butan-2-ol (sec-butyl alcohol). Ranges in mg/m³: 0.0670–1627 (AB 1642), 0.83–1700 (AB 1207, GC-MS), 2.75–2250 (AB 581), 6.2–900 (AB 746), 8.04–1954 (AB 882, GC-MS), 8.4–4000 (AB 882, GC-FID), 12–1400 (AB 849), 20–900 (AB 632). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — 6 laboratories; gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) — AB 1207 and the second item of AB 882.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 22-11-2022, and the PKN search shows no other standard for butan-2-ol; 7 laboratories have it in scopes issued after the withdrawal — the customer should know that the result is produced according to a standard withdrawn from the PKN catalogue. Second — limit of quantification: according to the card the limit of quantification of the method is 70 mg/m³; all seven laboratories state a lower bottom limit (from 0.0670 to 20 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Third — isopropyl alcohol in the desorption solution: according to the card desorption is done with a solution of isopropyl alcohol in carbon disulphide; the card does not say what to do when propan-2-ol is also present in the air tested, and WE DO NOT GIVE this. Fourth — detector: the GC-MS items (AB 1207 with PB-06A, AB 882 with PB-10) are performed according to in-house procedures, with the standard next to them. Fifth — the NDSCh of 450 mg/m³ requires a short-term measurement whose conditions WE DO NOT GIVE.

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 type of tube and the mass of charcoal, the concentration of isopropyl alcohol in the desorption solution, the column, the detector required by the standard, chromatograph conditions, desorption efficiency or calculations. We do not claim that another standard has replaced PN-Z-04155-4:1996 — PKN indicates none.

Method principle

Butan-2-ol (sec-butyl alcohol) vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated charcoal, desorbed with a solution of isopropyl alcohol in carbon disulphide, and the solution obtained is analysed chromatographically; the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 300 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 450 mg/m³. Limit of quantification of the method according to the card — 70 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (22-11-2022); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — butan-2-ol (sec-butyl alcohol) — in the current scopes of 7 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 300 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 450 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 71 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04155-4:1996

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości alkoholu butylowego — Oznaczanie alkoholu sec-butylowego na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for butyl alcohol content — Determination of sec-butyl alcohol at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04155-4:1996 withdrawn 22-11-2022, no successor indicated (card as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Adsorption of vapours on activated charcoal; WE DO NOT GIVE details.

3. Desorption and analysis

   Desorption with a solution of isopropyl alcohol in carbon disulphide, gas chromatography; WE DO NOT GIVE conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 300 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 450 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); limit of quantification 70 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Carbon disulphide as a component of the desorption solution — work in a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 22-11-2022; a bottom limit below 70 mg/m³ requires conditions different from those in the standard

Frequently asked questions