🌿 Dibutyl phthalate in workplace air — gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID); lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 0.5 mg/m³ (720 l of air); MAC (NDS) 0.6 mg/m³ (inhalable fraction); PN-Z-04495:2018-09 (withdrawn 20-11-2024)

Environment PN-Z-04495

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "This standard gives a method for determining dibutyl phthalate (CAS No.: 84-74-2) in workplace air using gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection. The method is used in the control of sanitary and hygienic conditions. The lowest concentration of dibutyl phthalate that can be determined under the air sampling and determination conditions described in the standard is 0.5 mg/m3 ( for an air sample of 720 l)" (our translation; on the card with a space after the bracket and without a full stop at the end). The card gives neither the sampling method nor the solvent. We did not have the text of the standard (8 pages). The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 lists "Ftalan dibutylu – nr 1(87) 2016"; we did not read the article and give nothing from it.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 268: "Dibutyl phthalate [84-74-2]" — NDS 0.6 mg/m³ with the note "inhalable fraction" and footnote 6 ("Inhalable fraction – the fraction of aerosol, determined in accordance with PN-EN 481, entering through the nose and mouth, which poses a health hazard when deposited in the respiratory tract.", our translation), without NDSCh and without the "skin" notation. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 0.5 mg/m³, is about 83 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04495:2018-09 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 12-09-2018, withdrawal date 20-11-2024, 8 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30; the card does not indicate a replacing standard. The PKN search for "ftalanu dibutylu" (05.10.2026) returns 14 items; the only current standard for this substance at workplaces is PN-Z-04575:2026-04 "Air purity protection -- Determination of dibutyl phthalate at workplaces by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry" (our translation of the title) — according to its card published 01-04-2026, 10 pages, KT 159, lowest determinable concentration 0.06 mg/m³ for a 720 l sample; the card of PN-Z-04575 has no "Replaces" field. The same results include two older standards with "ftalan dwubutylu" in the Polish title, both withdrawn: PN-Z-04208-04:1989 (workplaces) and PN-Z-04208-10:1992 (rooms intended for permanent human occupancy).

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data load up to 17.09.2026, read on 05.10.2026). The number 04495 appears in 2 records at 2 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues of 26.01.2026 and 11.06.2026 — both issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 2 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-Z-04495:2018-09" — AB 849 alone, AB 1207 next to procedure PB-10C edition 2 of 20.01.2025. The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04495") shows both laboratories — checked with a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 05.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). AB 849 — working environment, air, air samples collected on a filter: concentration and content of dibutyl phthalate, inhalable fraction, 0.02–7.90 mg/m³ (0.017–5.700 mg per sample), gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID). AB 1207 — working environment, air, air samples collected on filters: concentration and content of phthalates, among them dibutyl phthalate 0.012–6 mg/m³ (0.008–5.2 mg per sample), high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection (HPLC-UV).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 20-11-2024, and both laboratories have it in scopes issued in 2026; the current standard for this substance is PN-Z-04575:2026-04, but the PKN card does not link the two standards and we do not state that one replaced the other. Second — technique: the standard describes GC-FID, while AB 1207 determines dibutyl phthalate by HPLC-UV with procedure PB-10C — the report should state which technique was used. Third — limit of quantification: according to the card 0.5 mg/m³, i.e. about 83 % of the NDS; AB 849 gives a bottom limit of 0.02 mg/m³, AB 1207 0.012 mg/m³, which requires conditions different from those described on the card. Fourth — fraction: the NDS applies to the inhalable fraction; AB 849 describes the inhalable fraction, AB 1207 does not give a fraction, and the card of the standard does not mention fractions — the report should state which fraction was sampled and whether the result can be compared with the NDS.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the sampling method, air flow rate, solvent, column, chromatograph conditions or calculations; we do not know the content of the 2016 CIOP article. We do not state that PN-Z-04575:2026-04 replaced PN-Z-04495:2018-09 — PKN does not indicate this.

Method principle

Dibutyl phthalate in workplace air is determined by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection; lowest determinable concentration according to the PKN card — 0.5 mg/m³ for a 720 l air sample. The result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 0.6 mg/m³ for the inhalable fraction (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). The standard is withdrawn (20-11-2024); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — dibutyl phthalate — in the current scopes of 2 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 0.6 mg/m³ for the inhalable fraction (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 268 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04495:2018-09

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Oznaczanie ftalanu dibutylu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z detekcją płomieniowo-jonizacyjną

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Determination of dibutyl phthalate at workplaces by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04495:2018-09 withdrawn on 20-11-2024, with no indicated successor; current for the substance PN-Z-04575:2026-04 with GC-MS (cards as of 05.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Air sample of 720 l at a limit of quantification of 0.5 mg/m³ (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the sampling method.

3. Analysis

   Gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 0.6 mg/m³ for the inhalable fraction (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447).

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Dibutyl phthalate — chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 20-11-2024; the limit of quantification of 0.5 mg/m³ is about 83 % of the NDS; AB 1207 uses HPLC-UV instead of the GC-FID of the standard

Frequently asked questions