🌿 Ethyltoluene (mixture of 2-, 3- and 4-ethyltoluene isomers in the laboratories' scopes) in workplace air — adsorption of vapour on activated carbon, extraction with carbon disulfide, gas chromatography; lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 10 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 100 mg/m³ for the mixture of isomers; PN-Z-04016-5:1998

Environment PN-Z-04016-5

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "The method consists of adsorption of ethyltoluene vapour on activated carbon, extraction with carbon disulphide and chromatographic analysis of the resulting solution. The lowest ethyltoluene concentration that can be determined by this method is 10 mg/m3" (our translation; no full stop at the end on the card; the card uses the older Polish name for carbon disulfide). The card does not say whether a single isomer or a mixture is meant. We did not have the text of the standard (6 pages); the CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists no article on ethyltoluene (searched on 04.10.2026).

NDS VALUE (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 242: "Ethyltoluene – mixture of isomers [25550-14-5]" — NDS 100 mg/m³, no NDSCh and no "skin" notation. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 10 mg/m³, is 10 % of the NDS. The list has no separate items for 2-, 3- and 4-ethyltoluene.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04016-5:1998 (Polish version) has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Withdrawal date" line: published 07-09-1998, 6 pages, price group C, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04016" (04.10.2026) shows the series "Tests for benzene and its homologues with a saturated side chain": without the "Withdrawn" label — sheets 4:1998 (trimethylbenzene), 5:1998 (ethyltoluene), 6:1998 (cumene), 7:1999 (waste gases — emission), 8:1999 (diethylbenzene) and 10:2005 (benzene); labelled "Withdrawn" — 01–03:1989 and 9:1999 (tetramethylbenzene).

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 04016-5 (with a hyphen, dot or slash before the sheet number) appears in 6 records at 5 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 08.01.2026 to 28.07.2026) — in 5 rows at the same laboratories (AB 1642 has two records in the database copy: isomers and the calculated sum); 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 entries have the form "PN-Z-04016-5:1998"; AB 1207 — together with procedure PB-06A issue 7 of 20.01.2025. The "Laboratories" tab (query "PN-Z-04016-5") shows all 5 laboratories — checked with a tab query on the production server labcoda.pl on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Object: working environment — air, at some laboratories samples collected on sorbent tubes or solid sorbent; at AB 1207 the object recorded in the copy covers, besides the working environment, also samples of ambient and indoor air. Quantity: ethyltoluene as a mixture of isomers — AB 622 (4.8–628 mg/m³), AB 632 (10–200 mg/m³, with 2-, 3- and 4-ethyltoluene listed), AB 1144 (1.90–795 mg/m³; in PCA also separately 2-ethyltoluene 1.10–246, 3-ethyltoluene 1.90–216 and 4-ethyltoluene 1.40–333 mg/m³), AB 1642 (each isomer 0.067–600 mg/m³ and the calculated sum 0.0670–1800 mg/m³); AB 1207 — three isomers in the item "volatile organic compounds", each 0.33–420 mg/m³. Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — 4 laboratories; AB 1207 — gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS). DATABASE COPY ERROR: the AB 1144 record has "Concentration/content of ethylbenzene" as its methodology in the copy, with a range of 1.10–960 mg/m³, while the description of ethyltoluene ended up in the object field — in the PCA document (issue no. 26 of 08.01.2026) ethyltoluene is given next to PN-Z-04016-5:1998; we give the AB 1144 ranges from the PCA document. The same record was described in this database's entry on PN-Z-04081-01 (ethylbenzene) — consistently: in PCA, PN-Z-04016-5:1998 stands in the ethyltoluene row, while ethylbenzene has PN-79/Z-04081/01 there.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — what to compare with the NDS: the value of 100 mg/m³ refers to the mixture of isomers; laboratories giving only individual isomers (AB 1207, the separate AB 1144 items) do not directly give this quantity, while AB 1642 gives the calculated sum alongside the isomers — a report for exposure assessment should state which result was compared with the NDS. Second — isomers: the card speaks of "ethyltoluene", while the laboratories report a mixture of isomers, individual isomers or their calculated sum; the report should say exactly what was determined. Third — limit of quantification: according to the card 10 mg/m³; AB 632 gives this limit, the others a lower one (from 0.067 to 4.8 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those in the standard. Fourth — database data: for AB 1144 the database copy wrongly gives ethylbenzene; when searching by substance name, the PCA document must be checked. Fifth — detector and object: AB 1207 uses GC-MS according to an in-house procedure, and its item also covers ambient and indoor air.

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 tube type and carbon mass, the column, the detector required by the standard, chromatograph conditions, the isomers covered by the standard or calculations.

Method principle

Ethyltoluene vapour from workplace air is adsorbed on activated carbon, extracted with carbon disulfide, and the resulting solution is analysed chromatographically (PKN card). The lowest determinable concentration according to the card is 10 mg/m³; the result is compared with the NDS of 100 mg/m³ for the mixture of isomers (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — ethyltoluene (mixture of isomers, individual 2-, 3-, 4- isomers) — in the current scopes of 5 laboratories
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 100 mg/m³ for the mixture of ethyltoluene isomers (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 242 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04016-5:1998

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości benzenu i jego homologów z nasyconym łańcuchem bocznym — Oznaczanie etylotoluenu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for benzene and its homologues with saturated side chain content — Determination of ethyltoluene at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

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

2. Extraction

   With carbon disulfide (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE volumes.

3. Analysis

   Gas chromatography; WE DO NOT GIVE conditions.

4. Result

   Concentration in mg/m³ (mixture of isomers or individual isomers — according to the laboratory's scope); lowest determinable concentration 10 mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 100 mg/m³ for the mixture of isomers (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Carbon disulfide as extractant — work in a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the NDS refers to the mixture of isomers; the AB 1144 record in the database copy wrongly with ethylbenzene

Frequently asked questions