🌿 Cobalt and its compounds in workplace air — graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry; lowest determinable concentration according to the standard about 0.002 mg/m³ (720 l of air); MAC (NDS) 0.02 mg/m³ as Co; PN-Z-04454:2014-08

Environment PN-Z-04454

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "This standard gives a method for determining cobalt (CAS No.: 7440-48-4) and its compounds in workplace air using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The method is used in the control of sanitary and hygienic conditions. The lowest concentration of cobalt and its compounds that can be determined under the air sampling and determination conditions described in the standard is about 0.002 mg/m3 (for an air volume of 720 l)" (our translation; no full stop at the end on the card). The card does not give the filter, the mineralisation procedure or the fraction. We did not have the text of the standard (8 pages); the CIOP method index for 2000–2017 lists no article on cobalt (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 328: "Cobalt [7440-48-4] and its inorganic compounds − as Co" — NDS 0.02 mg/m³, no NDSCh, no "skin" notation and no note on the fraction; the substance is not covered by the transitional provisions of § 2. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, about 0.002 mg/m³, is about 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04454:2014-08 (Polish version) has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Withdrawal date" line: publication 01-08-2014, 8 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 has no "Replaces" field. The PKN search under "PN-Z-04454" (05.10.2026) returns only this standard; among the first 50 results for "kobaltu", the standards on cobalt in workplace air are this standard and the withdrawn PN-Z-04291:2003 (flame AAS; according to its card withdrawn on 11-08-2014, it replaced parts PN-Z-04161-01 and -02:1986) and PN-Z-04161-01/-02:1986.

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 04454 appears in 2 records at 2 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues of 26.01.2026 and 02.07.2026) — in 2 rows at the same laboratories; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from the BIP found no laboratories outside the database copy; no entry is suspended and no pages are repeated in any document. Notations: "PN-Z-04454:2014-08" — AB 632, alongside instruction IB-09 issue 1 of 01.08.2023; "PN-Z-04454:2014" (without the month) — AB 849. The "Laboratories" tab (search term "PN-Z-04454") shows both laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 05.10.2026. The withdrawn PN-Z-04291:2003 on cobalt is cited in the current PCA documents of 8 other laboratories (AB 340, AB 418, AB 481, AB 484, AB 647, AB 719, AB 1144, AB 1642) — it is described in a separate entry of this database.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). AB 632 — working environment, air, air samples collected on filters: concentration and content of cobalt and its inorganic compounds as Co, inhalable fraction, 0.00138–0.0417 mg/m³ (0.001–0.03 mg per sample). AB 849 — working environment, air, air samples collected on filters: concentration and content of cobalt and its inorganic compounds as Co, 0.0006–0.056 mg/m³ (0.0004–0.04 mg per sample). Technique: atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomisation (ETAAS) — both laboratories.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — two standards for one substance: the same quantity is determined by 8 laboratories according to the withdrawn PN-Z-04291:2003 (flame AAS) and by only 2 according to the current PN-Z-04454:2014-08; the card of the new standard has no "Replaces" field, so we do not write that one replaced the other. Second — fraction: AB 632 describes the inhalable fraction, AB 849 gives no fraction, and the NDS list item has no note on the fraction — the report should state what was sampled. Third — conversion: the NDS and both ranges refer to cobalt as Co, not to the mass of the compounds. Fourth — lower limit: AB 849 starts at 0.0006 mg/m³ and AB 632 at 0.00138 mg/m³, i.e. below the limit of quantification on the card (about 0.002 mg/m³ for 720 l), which requires conditions different from those on the card.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the filter, the air flow rate, the mineralisation procedure, the reagents, the wavelength, the furnace temperature programme or the calculations.

Method principle

Cobalt and its compounds in workplace air are determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry; lowest determinable concentration according to the PKN card — about 0.002 mg/m³ for 720 l of air. The result in mg/m³ as Co is compared with the NDS of 0.02 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — cobalt and its compounds — in the current scopes of 2 laboratories (8 others use the withdrawn PN-Z-04291:2003)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 0.02 mg/m³ as Co (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 328 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04454:2014-08

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Oznaczanie kobaltu i jego związków na stanowiskach pracy metodą absorpcyjnej spektrometrii atomowej z kuwetą grafitową

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Determination of cobalt and its compounds at workplaces by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   720 l of air at a lowest determinable concentration of about 0.002 mg/m³ (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the filter and flow rate.

2. Sample preparation

   WE DO NOT GIVE details — the card does not describe them.

3. Analysis

   Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration of cobalt as Co in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 0.02 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447).

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Cobalt and its compounds — safety rules of the chemical laboratory
• TECHNICAL NOTE: most laboratories determine cobalt in air according to the withdrawn PN-Z-04291:2003; 2 laboratories have this standard in their scope

Frequently asked questions