🌿 Diethyl ether (in the standard "eter dwuetylowy") in workplace air — adsorption of vapours on activated carbon, extraction with ethyl acetate, gas chromatography; determinability according to the standard 75 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 300 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 600 mg/m³; PN-Z-04158-02:1986 (withdrawn 17-10-2011)

Environment PN-Z-04158-02

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "The test method consists in the adsorption of diethyl ether vapours on activated carbon, its extraction with ethyl acetate and chromatographic analysis of the solution obtained. The determinability of the method is 75 mg in 1 cubic metre of air" (our translation; on the card without a full stop at the end). The solvent here is ethyl acetate, not carbon disulphide. We did not have the text of the standard (3 pages); the CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists no article on diethyl ether (searched on 04.10.2026 — it lists other ethers).

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 224: "Diethyl ether [60-29-7]" — NDS 300 mg/m³, NDSCh 600 mg/m³, no "skin" notation. The determinability according to the card, 75 mg/m³, is 25 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04158-02:1986 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 08-04-1986, withdrawal date 17-10-2011, 3 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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-04158" (04.10.2026) shows three parts of the series "Tests for ether content" — 01:1986 (general provisions), 02:1986 and 03:1986 (isopropyl ether) — all labelled "Withdrawn". The search terms "eteru dietylowego" and "eteru dwuetylowego" return the same 12 items: current standards for other ethers (tert-butyl ethyl ether PN-Z-04571:2026-08, dimethyl ether PN-Z-04414:2009, tert-butyl methyl ether PN-Z-04386:2009, bis(2-chloroethyl) ether PN-Z-04299:2001, diphenyl ether with biphenyl PN-Z-04247-2:1996) and withdrawn parts of the PN-Z-04158 series; they show no current standard for diethyl ether at workplaces.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 04158-02 (with a hyphen, full stop or slash before the part number) appears in 4 records at 4 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 24.11.2025 to 08.09.2026 — all issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 4 rows at the same laboratories; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from the BIP found no laboratories outside the database copy; none of these items is suspended, and no document repeats pages. The form "PN-86/Z-04158/02" — AB 647 and AB 300 (next to instruction IN-59 ed. 3 of 18.12.2025); "PN-86/Z-04158.02" — AB 746; "PN-Z-04158-02:1986" — AB 562 (next to "PB_42 edycja 5 z dnia 2022-08-16"). The "Laboratories" tab: "PN-86/Z-04158/02" shows 2 laboratories, "PN-Z-04158-02" — 1, "PN-86/Z-04158.02" — 1, 4 in total, the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries of 04.10.2026). Part 03 (isopropyl ether) is not cited by any laboratory in the copy.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air; AB 300 and AB 746 — samples collected on sorbent tubes, AB 647 — on activated carbon tubes, AB 562 — without a note. Quantity: concentration (content) of diethyl ether. Ranges in mg/m³: 2.20–1600 (AB 300), 5–4000 (AB 562), 6.2–1200 (AB 746), 26–3000 (AB 647); per sample from 0.08 mg (AB 300). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — all 4 laboratories.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 17-10-2011, and PKN shows no current standard for diethyl ether; 4 laboratories have it in scopes issued since November 2025 — the client should know that the result is produced according to a standard withdrawn from the PKN catalogue. Second — limit of quantification: according to the card 75 mg/m³, i.e. a quarter of the NDS; all laboratories give a lower bottom limit (from 2.20 to 26 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Third — solvent: the card speaks of extraction with ethyl acetate; a laboratory that desorbs with another solvent uses conditions outside the standard. Fourth — name: the card and the title of the standard write "eter dwuetylowy", the NDS list "eter dietylowy"; it is the same substance. Fifth — the NDSCh of 600 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 mass of carbon, the volume of ethyl acetate, the column, the detector required by the standard, the chromatograph conditions or calculations. We do not claim that another standard has replaced PN-Z-04158-02:1986 — PKN names none.

Method principle

Diethyl ether vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon, extracted with ethyl acetate, and the solution is analysed by chromatography (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 300 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 600 mg/m³. Determinability according to the card — 75 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (17-10-2011); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — diethyl ether — in the current scopes of 4 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 300 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 600 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 224 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04158-02:1986

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości eterów — Oznaczanie eteru dwuetylowego na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z wzbogacaniem próbki

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for ether content — Determination of diethyl ether at workplaces by gas chromatography with sample enrichment

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04158-02:1986 withdrawn 17-10-2011, with no successor named (card as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

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

3. Extraction and analysis

   Extraction with ethyl acetate, chromatographic analysis (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 300 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 600 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); determinability 75 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Diethyl ether and ethyl acetate — work with solvents in a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn 17-10-2011; the determinability from the card is a quarter of the NDS

Frequently asked questions