🌿 Dichloromethane (in the standard "methylene chloride") in workplace air — adsorption of vapours on activated carbon, extraction with toluene or cumene, gas chromatography; MAC (NDS) 88 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 353 mg/m³, "skin" notation; PN-Z-04110-02:1983 (withdrawn 15-08-2014)

Environment PN-Z-04110-02

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "A method is specified consisting in the adsorption of methylene chloride vapours on activated carbon, its extraction with toluene, cumene and chromatography of the solution obtained. The method is used for determining concentrations of methylene chloride vapours in workplace air. Apparatus and instruments, reagents and solutions needed for the analysis, chromatograph operating conditions and preparation of the calibration curve are given" (our translation; without a full stop at the end, as on the card). The card gives no determinability. We did not have the text of the standard (3 pages).

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 165). "Dichloromethane [75-09-2]" — NDS 88 mg/m³ (25 ppm), NDSCh 353 mg/m³ (100 ppm), "skin" notation.

STATUS (cards as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04110-02:1983 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 23-03-1983, withdrawal date 15-08-2014, 3 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 does not name a replacing standard. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04110" shows three items, all "Withdrawn": part 00:1977 (scope of the standard), part 01:1977 and part 02:1983. Under "dichlorometanu" the only standard for workplace air is PN-Z-04437:2011 "Air purity protection -- Determination of dichloromethane at workplaces by gas chromatography", without the label "Withdrawn". According to its card, the older part PN-Z-04110-01:1977 (published 16-12-1977, withdrawal date 27-11-2012, 4 pages) covered gas chromatography "a) (…) without sample enrichment, b) (…) with sample enrichment using carbon disulphide".

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 04110-02 (with a hyphen or slash before the part number) appears in 5 records at 4 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 08.01.2026 to 28.07.2026 — all 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 item is suspended, and no document repeats pages. The form "PN-83/Z-04110/02" — AB 882, AB 1144, AB 1207; "PN-Z-04110-2:1983" — AB 882 (second item); "PN-83-Z-04110/02" — AB 1642. The "Laboratories" tab: "PN-83/Z-04110/02" shows 3 laboratories, "PN-Z-04110-2" — 1, "PN-83-Z-04110/02" — 1 (AB 882 under two forms), the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries of 04.10.2026). Part 01:1977 ("PN-77/Z-04110.01", "PN-77/Z-04110/01") is still cited by AB 746 (issue no. 38 of 22.07.2026) and AB 875 (issue no. 22 of 29.01.2026), items not in bold italics.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents, all: working environment — air). AB 882 — two items: GC-FID with procedure PB-01 edition 5 of 12.01.2026, 1.24–1237 mg/m³ (0.35–349.7 ppm; 0.006–1.20 mg per sample), and GC-MS with procedure PB-10 edition 1 of 31.08.2022, 0.78–2354 mg/m³ (0.22–665.4 ppm; 0.004–1.2 mg per sample); for both, the article "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy 2009 nr 1(59) str. 135-140" is also cited as a reference document. AB 1144 — GC-FID, samples on a solid sorbent, 1.40–680 mg/m³ (0.40–192 ppm; 0.0140–1.70 mg per sample). AB 1207 — GC-MS with procedure PB-06A edition 7 of 20.01.2025, activated carbon tubes, also general environment, 0.33–1700 mg/m³ (0.093–481 ppm; 0.002–2 mg per sample). AB 1642 — GC-FID, solid sorbent, 0.10–569 mg/m³ (0.03–161 ppm; 0.0010–4.10 mg per sample). Part 01:1977: AB 746 — GC-FID, 0.62–707 mg/m³ (0.18–200 ppm; 0.010–5.0 mg per sample); AB 875 — GC-FID, 2.5–200 mg/m³ (0.05–4 mg per sample).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — two different methods under one record: the article in "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" 2009 no. 1(59) pp. 135–140 (A. Woźnica, CIOP-PIB), which AB 882 cites next to the standard, describes adsorption on activated carbon, desorption with carbon disulphide and GC-FID with a determinability of 8.8 mg/m³ — while the card of PN-Z-04110-02 speaks of extraction with toluene or cumene; the scope alone does not show which solvent the laboratory uses for desorption. Second — detector: the card does not name a detector, while AB 882 and AB 1207 give GC-MS. Third — status: part 02 withdrawn since 15-08-2014, part 01 since 27-11-2012, and the current PN-Z-04437:2011 exists; 6 laboratories have withdrawn parts in scopes issued in 2026. Fourth — range: bottom limits of 0.10–2.5 mg/m³ are a fraction of the NDS of 88 mg/m³, but the card gives no determinability for the method of the standard, so these limits cannot be compared with it. Fifth — object: AB 1207 applies the same item to the general environment as well, for which the NDS is not a reference value. Sixth — "skin" notation: a measurement in air does not cover absorption through the skin.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of PN-Z-04110-02:1983 — we do not give the volume or flow rate of sampling, the amounts of carbon and solvent, the chromatograph conditions, the determinability or calculations. Details of the 2009 CIOP procedure (tubes, volumes, conditions) are in the description of PN-Z-04437:2011 in the Knowledge Base — we do not transfer them to the 1983 standard.

Method principle

Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon, extracted with toluene or cumene, and the solution obtained is analysed by gas chromatography with a calibration curve (PKN card). The card gives neither the determinability nor the detector. The standard is withdrawn (15-08-2014); the current standard for dichloromethane at workplaces is PN-Z-04437:2011. WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — dichloromethane in the scopes of 4 laboratories (AB 882, AB 1144, AB 1207, AB 1642), at AB 1207 also the general environment; despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 88 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 353 mg/m³, "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 165)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04110-02:1983

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości chlorku metylenu — Oznaczanie chlorku metylenu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z wzbogacaniem próbki przy użyciu toluenu lub kumenu

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for methylene chloride content — Determination of methylene chloride at workplaces by gas chromatography with sample enrichment using toluene or cumene

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04110-02:1983 withdrawn 15-08-2014; current PN-Z-04437:2011 (cards as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

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

3. Extraction and analysis

   Extraction with toluene or cumene, gas chromatography, calibration curve (PKN card).

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³ against the NDS of 88 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 353 mg/m³; "skin" notation — a measurement in air does not cover the dermal route.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Dichloromethane, toluene and cumene — work in a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn since 2014, current PN-Z-04437:2011; AB 882 cites next to the standard the 2009 CIOP article with desorption by carbon disulphide, not toluene or cumene

Frequently asked questions