🌿 Desflurane (halogenated anaesthetic gas) in workplace air — adsorption of vapours on activated carbon, desorption with toluene, gas chromatography; lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 4 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 125 mg/m³; PN-Z-04422:2010

Environment PN-Z-04422

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "A method is given consisting in the adsorption of desflurane vapours on activated carbon, desorption of the compound with toluene and analysis of the solution obtained by gas chromatography. The lowest concentration of desflurane that can be determined by this method is 4 mg/m3" (our translation; on the card without a full stop at the end). The card does not give the detector. We did not have the text of the standard (7 pages). The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists "Dezfluran – nr 1(51) 2007"; we did not read the article and give nothing from it. The same principle — activated carbon and desorption with toluene — appears on the cards of the standards on isoflurane (PN-Z-04423:2011) and sevoflurane (PN-Z-04429:2011), described in separate entries of this database.

NDS VALUE (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 145: "Desflurane [57041-67-5]" — NDS 125 mg/m³, no NDSCh and no "skin" notation. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 4 mg/m³, is 3.2 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04422:2010 (Polish version) has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Withdrawal date" line: published 16-11-2010, 7 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 has no "Replaces" field. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04422" and "dezfluranu" (04.10.2026) returns only this standard.

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 04422 appears in 5 records at 4 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 29.01.2026 to 28.07.2026) — 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. All records have the form "PN-Z-04422:2010": AB 875, AB 1642, AB 1207 (next to procedure PB-06D edition 7 of 20.01.2025) and AB 882 (two items: "z wyłączeniem p 5.1" next to procedure PB-01 edition 5 of 12.01.2026, GC-FID; next to PB-10 edition 1 of 31.08.2022, GC-MS). The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04422") shows all 4 laboratories — checked with a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air; AB 875 — samples collected on sorbent tubes, AB 1642 — on a solid sorbent, AB 1207 — on activated carbon tubes (at AB 1207 the object also covers ambient and indoor air). Quantity: concentration (content) of desflurane (at AB 1207 "dezfluranu (desfluranu)"). Ranges in mg/m³: 0.17–417 (AB 1207, GC-MS), 3.20–200 (AB 1642), 3.61–310 (AB 882, GC-FID), 4.0–900.0 (AB 875, GC-MS), 6.45–276 (AB 882, GC-MS). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — AB 1642 and one item of AB 882; with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) — AB 875, AB 1207 and the second item of AB 882.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — other anaesthetics: the CIOP procedure for isoflurane (M. Kucharska, W. Wesołowski, PiMOŚP 2007, no. 1(51), pp. 133–139) states that isoflurane is used alongside such halogenated anaesthetic gases as halothane, enflurane, sevoflurane, desflurane and methoxyflurane (separate standards for isoflurane and sevoflurane with the same principle); the column must separate them — how the standard ensures this does not follow from the card. Second — detector: the card does not give the detector; two laboratories use GC-FID, and three items are GC-MS according to in-house procedures — selectivity towards other anaesthetics should be demonstrated. Third — limit of quantification: according to the card 4 mg/m³; AB 875 gives this limit, AB 1207 (0.17), AB 1642 (3.20) and the GC-FID item of AB 882 (3.61) a lower one, which requires conditions different from those in the standard. Fourth — AB 882 excludes point 5.1 of the standard, whose content we do not know. Fifth — object: at AB 1207 the same item covers ambient and indoor air, for which the NDS is not a reference value.

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 mass of carbon, the volume of toluene, the column, the detector required by the standard, the chromatograph conditions or calculations; we did not read the 2007 CIOP procedure.

Method principle

Desflurane vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon, desorbed with toluene, and the solution is analysed by gas chromatography (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 125 mg/m³. Lowest determinable concentration according to the card — 4 mg/m³. WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — desflurane — in the current scopes of 4 laboratories
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 125 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 145 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04422:2010

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Oznaczanie dezfluranu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Determination of desflurane at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   Adsorption of vapours on activated carbon (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE details.

2. Desorption

   With toluene (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume or time.

3. Analysis

   Gas chromatography (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions — separation from other anaesthetics is required.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 125 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 4 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Toluene — work with solvents in a fume hood, with gloves
• TECHNICAL NOTE: with other anaesthetics in the air, separation must be demonstrated; a bottom limit below 4 mg/m³ requires conditions different from those in the standard

Frequently asked questions