🌿 Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons in workplace air — passive sampling, adsorption of vapours on activated carbon, desorption with carbon disulphide, gas chromatography; fourteen compounds (incl. dichloromethane, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, chloroethene), limit of quantification according to the standard from 0.1 to 3 mg/m³; PN-Z-04325:2006 (withdrawn 17-10-2022)

Environment PN-Z-04325

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "A method is given consisting in the adsorption of vapours of chloroethane, chloroethene, chloroform, chloromethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, dichloroethene, dichloromethane, tetrachloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, trichloroethene; 1,2-dichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane on activated carbon, desorption of the compounds with carbon disulphide and analysis of the obtained solution by gas chromatography. The lowest concentration of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons that can be determined by this method is respectively from 0.1 mg/m3 to 3 mg/m3" (our translation; punctuation as on the card, without a full stop at the end). From the title: samples are collected passively. The card gives neither the detector nor the exposure time of the sampler; nor does it assign the limits of quantification to individual compounds. We did not have the text of the standard (8 pages).

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447) for the compounds determined according to this standard by the laboratories: item 165 "Dichloromethane [75-09-2]" — NDS 88 mg/m³ (25 ppm), NDSCh 353 mg/m³ (100 ppm); item 512 "Tetrachloroethene [127-18-4]" — NDS 85 mg/m³ (12.3 ppm), NDSCh 170 mg/m³ (24.6 ppm); item 544 "Trichloroethene [79-01-6]" — NDS 50 mg/m³ (9.17 ppm), NDSCh 100 mg/m³ (18.34 ppm); all three with the "skin" notation. The remaining compounds from the card have their own items in the list, which this entry does not discuss.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04325:2006 (Polish version) carries the heading "Withdrawn": published 24-10-2006, withdrawal date 17-10-2022, 8 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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-04325" (04.10.2026) returns only this standard; among the first 50 results for "chlorowanych węglowodorów" there is no other standard on passive sampling of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, and the terms "tetrachloroetenu" and "trichloroetenu" return no standard; the terms with the common names "tetrachloroetylenu" and "trichloroetylenu" return only standards on water and waste water (PN-C-04549-1 and -2) and on textile cleaning. Individual compounds are described in separate entries of this database: dichloromethane (PN-Z-04437:2011, current), tetrachloroethene (PN-Z-04118-01 and -02) and trichloroethene (PN-Z-04047-02).

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 04325 appears in 5 records at 2 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues of 23.07.2026 and 18.08.2026 — both issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — 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 document repeats pages. All four 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-04325:2006" — AB 647 alone, AB 522 next to procedure PB-17-27 edition 7 of 20.06.2022 (in the items on mass per sample "excluding point 5.4"). The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04325") shows both laboratories — checked with a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). AB 647 — working environment, air samples collected on activated carbon tubes, dichloromethane 6.6–746 mg/m³ (1.87–211.7 ppm; 0.065–4.7 mg per sample), GC-FID. AB 522 (suspended) — working environment: concentration of tetrachloroethene 0.94–1909.94 mg/m³ (0.136–277.6 ppm) and trichloroethene 0.83–1714.94 mg/m³, and content of tetrachloroethene 17–34 379 µg and trichloroethene 15–30 869 µg per sample (sorbent tubes), GC-FID.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 17-10-2022 with no successor named, and both laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2026; the only active item (AB 647, dichloromethane) has a current standard for this substance, PN-Z-04437:2011. Second — sampling method: the title speaks of passive sampling, while AB 647 gives activated carbon tubes and AB 522 sorbent tubes; whether the sampling is passive, as in the title of the standard, does not follow from the scopes. Third — limit of quantification: the card gives a range of 0.1–3 mg/m³ for the whole group, without assignment to compounds, so no laboratory's bottom limit can be compared with it. Fourth — skin: all three compounds determined carry the "skin" notation, and a measurement in air does not cover absorption through the skin. Fifth — suspension: all items at AB 522 suspended until 14.02.2027; AB 522 also excludes point 5.4 of its own procedure PB-17-27 — 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 type of passive sampler, the exposure time, the uptake rate, the volume of carbon disulphide, the column, the detector required by the standard, the chromatograph conditions, the limits of quantification of individual compounds or calculations. We do not claim that another standard has replaced PN-Z-04325:2006 — PKN names none.

Method principle

Vapours of fourteen chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons from workplace air are collected passively (title of the standard) and adsorbed on activated carbon, desorbed with carbon disulphide, and the solution is analysed by gas chromatography (PKN card). Lowest determinable concentrations according to the card — from 0.1 to 3 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (17-10-2022); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — dichloromethane (AB 647), tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene (AB 522, suspended) — despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS from separate items of the list: dichloromethane 88/353, tetrachloroethene 85/170, trichloroethene 50/100 mg/m³, all with the "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04325:2006

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Oznaczanie chlorowanych węglowodorów alifatycznych na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z pasywnym pobieraniem próbek

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Determination of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons at workplaces by gas chromatography with passive sampling

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04325:2006 withdrawn on 17-10-2022, with no successor named (card as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Passive sampling, adsorption of vapours on activated carbon (title and PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the parameters.

3. Desorption and analysis

   Desorption with carbon disulphide, gas chromatography (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentrations of the individual compounds in mg/m³ against their items in the NDS list; "skin" notation — a measurement in air does not cover the dermal route.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Chlorinated hydrocarbons and carbon disulphide — chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 17-10-2022; for dichloromethane PN-Z-04437:2011 is current; all items at AB 522 suspended until 14.02.2027

Frequently asked questions