🌿 Phenol in the air of rooms intended for permanent occupancy — silica gel, ether, gas chromatography with sample enrichment; limit of quantification according to the standard 0.0004 mg/m³; PN-Z-04159-10:1989 (withdrawn 07-07-2015)

Environment PN-Z-04159-10

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "The test method consists in adsorption of phenol vapour on silica gel, extracting it with ether and chromatographic analysis of the solution obtained. The limit of quantification of the method is 0.0004 mg in 1 cubic m of air" (our translation; spelling as on the card, no full stop at the end). The title on the card refers to air "in rooms intended for permanent occupancy", not to workplaces. The card does not give the type of ether, the detector, the volume or the flow rate of the air sample. We did not have the text of the standard (3 pages); the CIOP method index for 2000–2017 lists no article on phenol — it lists only phenol derivatives (searched on 05.10.2026).

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 245: "Phenol [108-95-2]" — NDS 7.8 mg/m³, NDSCh 16 mg/m³, "skin" notation, no note on the fraction; the substance is not covered by the transitional provisions of § 2. The NDS values apply to workplaces; for the air of rooms intended for permanent occupancy, to which the title of the standard refers, they are not a reference value.

STATUS (card as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04159-10:1989 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn" without naming a replacing standard: publication 02-12-1989, withdrawal date 07-07-2015, 3 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 161 Indoor Air Quality, ICS 13.040.20 — a different committee and a different classification group than for the standards on workplaces (KT 159, ICS 13.040.30). PKN search (05.10.2026): under "PN-Z-04159" — 4 parts of the series "Tests for phenol content": -01:1986 (general provisions and scope), -02:1986 (phenol at workplaces, gas chromatography), -05:1993 (ambient air) and -10:1989, all labelled "Withdrawn"; among the first 50 results for "fenolu", the standards on phenol itself in air are — besides this series — the withdrawn PN-Z-04044:1956 and PN-Z-04044:1970, while the current standards in these results concern phenol derivatives; the terms "hydroksybenzenu" and "benzenolu" give no results. The withdrawn PN-Z-04044:1970 (phenol at workplaces, spectrophotometry) is described in a separate entry of this database, which also states that there is no current standard for phenol at workplaces.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read on 05.10.2026). Number 04159-10 appears in 2 records at 2 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues of 29.01.2026 and 22.07.2026) — in 2 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 entries is suspended (in the AB 746 document a different part of the scope is suspended), and no pages are repeated in any document. Notations: "PN-Z-04159-10:1989" — AB 746; "PN-89/Z-04159/10" — AB 875. The "Laboratories" tab searches for records beginning with the term entered: "PN-Z-04159-10" and "PN-89/Z-04159/10" show 1 laboratory each, 2 in total — the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries on 05.10.2026). Part -02:1986 on workplaces is not cited by any laboratory in the database copy.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Subject: working environment — air, samples collected into (on) sorbent tubes — at both laboratories, although the title of the standard concerns rooms intended for permanent occupancy. Quantity: concentration (content) of phenol. Ranges: AB 875 — 0.1–16 mg/m³ (0.002–0.32 mg per sample); AB 746 — 0.312–32 mg/m³ (0.0050–1.0 mg per sample). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — both laboratories.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — a different subject of the standard: the standard concerns the air of rooms intended for permanent occupancy, while both laboratories apply it to workplaces; the part on workplaces (-02:1986) is separate and also withdrawn — the report should explain why a method for rooms was used for a workplace. Second — a different concentration level: the limit of quantification on the card (0.0004 mg/m³) corresponds to concentrations in rooms, while the laboratories' ranges start at 0.1 and 0.312 mg/m³ and reach 16 and 32 mg/m³ — up to twice the NDSCh; transferring the method to such concentrations requires conditions different from those on the card. Third — no current standard: the PKN search returns no current standard for phenol at workplaces, and the whole PN-Z-04159 series is withdrawn. Fourth — skin: according to footnote 4 of the list, with the "skin" notation absorption through the skin "may be as significant as in exposure by inhalation" (our translation) — a measurement in air does not cover this route.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the amount of silica gel, the type and volume of ether, the volume or flow rate of the air sample, the detector according to the standard, the column, the chromatograph conditions or the calculations. We do not assess whether the method of this standard is suitable for workplaces — the cards do not say so.

Method principle

Phenol vapour from air is adsorbed on silica gel, extracted with ether and the solution obtained is analysed chromatographically (PKN card); limit of quantification according to the card — 0.0004 mg/m³. The standard concerns the air of rooms intended for permanent occupancy; in the accreditation scopes it is applied to workplaces, where the result is compared with the NDS of 7.8 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 16 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). The standard has been withdrawn since 07-07-2015 with no successor.

Applications

• Air of rooms intended for permanent occupancy — phenol (subject of the standard according to the card)
• In the current scopes of 2 laboratories — workplace air against the NDS of 7.8 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 16 mg/m³, with the "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 245 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04159-10:1989

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości fenolu — Oznaczanie fenolu w powietrzu w pomieszczeniach przeznaczonych na stały pobyt ludzi metodą chromatografii gazowej z wzbogacaniem próbki

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for phenol content — Determination of phenol in the air of rooms intended for permanent occupancy by gas chromatography with sample enrichment

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   Adsorption of phenol vapour on silica gel (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume and flow rate.

2. Extraction

   Extraction with ether (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume and time.

3. Analysis

   Chromatographic analysis of the solution obtained (PKN card); in the scopes — GC-FID; WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration of phenol in mg/m³; at workplaces — comparison with the NDS of 7.8 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 16 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Phenol and ether — safety rules of the chemical laboratory
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the standard concerns the air of rooms intended for permanent occupancy (KT 161), while the laboratories apply it to workplaces; the whole PN-Z-04159 series is withdrawn

Frequently asked questions