🌿 Epoxyethane (ethylene oxide) in workplace air — adsorption of vapours on activated carbon, desorption with carbon disulphide, gas chromatography; lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 0.1 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 1 mg/m³ (0.55 ppm), "skin" notation; PN-Z-04300:2002

Environment PN-Z-04300

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN catalogue card, in full (our translation): "A method is given consisting in adsorption of epoxyethane vapours on activated carbon, desorption of the compound with carbon disulphide and analysis of the solution obtained by gas chromatography. The lowest concentration of epoxyethane that can be determined by this method is 0.1 mg/m3" (no full stop at the end on the card). We did not have the text of the standard (7 pages). The CIOP index of methods for 2000–2017 contains no article with a method for epoxyethane; the search on 04.10.2026 did not find one either.

NDS VALUE (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 211: "Epoxyethane – ethylene oxide [75-21-8]" — NDS 1 mg/m³ (0.55 ppm), no NDSCh or NDSP, "skin" notation. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 0.1 mg/m³, is 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04300:2002 (Polish version) has no "Withdrawn" heading — the standard is CURRENT: published 29-03-2002, 7 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30; national standard, without the fields "Implements" and "Supersedes". The PKN search for "PN-Z-04300" (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 04300 appears in 9 records at 8 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 04.09.2025 to 30.07.2026) — in 9 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. Form "PN-Z-04300:2002" — 6 laboratories (AB 1207 next to procedure PB-06K edition 3 of 20.01.2025); AB 719 — "PN-Z-04300:2002 pkt 8" (clause 8) next to procedure PA-22 edition 7 of 24.01.2025; AB 379 — "PN-Z-04300" without year, next to procedure PB-02/SA, in the item "Content of volatile organic compounds". The "Laboratories" tab (query "PN-Z-04300") shows all 8 laboratories — checked with the tab's query on the production server labcoda.pl on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA). Object: working environment — air, samples collected on sorbent tubes (AB 719: with activated carbon); AB 935 also waste gases ("PN-Z-04300:2002 excluding clause 8", 0.10–100 mg/m³); AB 379 — working environment and rooms intended for human occupancy, air. Quantity: concentration (content) of epoxyethane; at AB 379 — content of volatile organic compounds, without naming epoxyethane. Ranges in mg/m³: 0.030–200 (AB 1207, also 0.010–64.87 ppm), 0.06–2.04 (AB 849), 0.07–2.13 (AB 484, also 0.04–1.17 ppm), 0.1–100 (AB 935, also 0.05–54.7 ppm), 0.1–10 (AB 875, also 0.055–5.5 ppm), 0.10–10 (AB 622); AB 719 — 0.0020–2.00 mg per sample; AB 379 — no range. Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — 7 laboratories; AB 1207 — gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — limit of quantification: according to the card the lowest concentration determinable by this method is 0.1 mg/m³; three laboratories state a lower bottom limit (AB 1207 — 0.030, AB 849 — 0.06, AB 484 — 0.07 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Second — units: the NDS is given in mg/m³ and in ppm (1 mg/m³ and 0.55 ppm in the list); four laboratories also give the range in ppm — when comparing with the NDS one unit must be kept. Third — skin: according to footnote 4 of the list the "skin" notation means "that absorption of the substance through the skin may be as significant as in exposure by inhalation"; measurement in air does not cover it. Fourth — atypical items: AB 379 cites the number of the standard without the year in an item for volatile organic compounds in general, also for rooms intended for human occupancy — the item itself does not show that the result is the concentration of epoxyethane; AB 935 applies the standard to waste gases excluding clause 8, while the NDS applies only to workplace air. Fifth — detector: AB 1207 determines epoxyethane by GC-MS according to procedure PB-06K, with the standard cited next to it.

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 or mass of carbon, the way samples are secured, the column, the detector required by the standard, chromatograph conditions, desorption coefficient, calculations or the content of clause 8, cited by AB 719 and excluded by AB 935.

Method principle

Epoxyethane vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon, the compound is desorbed with carbon disulphide and the solution obtained is analysed by gas chromatography; the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 1 mg/m³ (0.55 ppm). Lowest concentration determinable by this method — 0.1 mg/m³ (PKN card). WE DO NOT GIVE details of sampling, desorption or chromatographic conditions — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — epoxyethane (ethylene oxide) — in the scopes of 8 laboratories
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 1 mg/m³ (0.55 ppm), "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 211 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04300:2002

Title (PL)

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

Title (EN)

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

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status and scope

   PN-Z-04300:2002 current (card as of 04.10.2026); epoxyethane vapours in workplace air.

2. Sampling

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

3. Desorption and analysis

   Desorption with carbon disulphide, gas chromatography; WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 1 mg/m³ (0.55 ppm) (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 0.1 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Carbon disulphide as desorption solvent — work under a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: "skin" notation — measurement in air does not cover absorption through the skin; a bottom limit below 0.1 mg/m³ requires conditions different from those in the standard

Frequently asked questions