🌿 Volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX, styrene), halogenated hydrocarbons and ethers in soil — methanol extraction and gas chromatography with static headspace analysis, PN-EN ISO 22155

Environment PN-EN ISO 22155

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The scope from the PKN catalogue card, quoted in full: "This International Standard specifies a method for the quantitative determination of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons and selected aliphatic ethers in soil by gas chromatography using the static headspace method. This International Standard is applicable to all types of soil. The limit of quantification depends on the detection system and on the purity of the methanol used for the extraction of the soil sample. Under the conditions specified in this International Standard the following limits of quantification apply (expressed on a dry soil mass basis): When GC-FID is used, the typical limit of quantification is: — 0.2 mg/kg for volatile aromatic hydrocarbons; — 0.5 mg/kg for aliphatic ethers such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and methyl tert-amyl ether (TAME). When GC-ECD is used, the typical limit of quantification is: — from 0.01 mg/kg to 0.2 mg/kg for volatile halogenated hydrocarbons. Lower limits of quantification for some compounds can be obtained by using mass spectrometry (MS) with selected ion detection (see Annex D)." (We have omitted the double spaces of the card.)

STATUS (state of the card on 29 September 2026). The card of PN-EN ISO 22155:2016-07 (English version) carries no withdrawal note — the standard is CURRENT. Published 05-07-2016, 32 pages, PKN technical committee KT 191 (Soil Chemistry), ICS 13.080.10; "Introduces: EN ISO 22155:2016 [IDT], ISO 22155:2016 [IDT]"; "Supersedes: PN-EN ISO 22155:2013-07 - English version". The PKN search (29 September 2026) also shows the earlier PN-EN ISO 22155:2013-07 and PN-ISO 22155:2009 — both labelled "Withdrawn". The card of PN-ISO 22155:2009 (Polish version): published 08-06-2009, "Date of withdrawal: 26-07-2013", "Superseded by: PN-EN ISO 22155:2013-07 - English version" — the last Polish version of this standard; since 2013 the valid text has been in English.

REGULATION — ASSESSMENT OF LAND SURFACE CONTAMINATION. Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of 1 September 2016 on the method of assessing land surface contamination (Journal of Laws 2016 item 1395): § 11(1) — reference methodologies for testing soil and earth contamination are set out in Annex 3. In Annex 3 the reference methodology for benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylenes and styrene is gas chromatography (GC with an FID or ECD or MS detector) according to a test procedure "based on PN-EN ISO 15009 (…) or PN-EN ISO 22155"; this standard (headspace technique) is also named in the row "Sum of C6-C12 hydrocarbons, components of the petrol fraction" in the group "Petrol and oils". The same annex also names PN-EN ISO 22155 in the group of chlorinated hydrocarbons, for individual chlorobenzenes: "For monochlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene and trichlorobenzene – test procedure based on PN-EN ISO 22155 (…)". Permissible contents in soil (Annex 1, point 1, as worded by the Regulation of the Minister of Climate and Environment of 31 October 2024 — Journal of Laws 2024 item 1657; mg/kg of dry matter of the earthy fraction, depth 0–0.25 m) for soil groups I, II, III and IV: benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylenes — 0.1; 0.1; 10; 100; styrene — 0.1; 0.1; 6; 60. These values are the same as in the original 2016 wording of the annex; the new wording entered into force six months after the amending regulation was published (13 November 2024). The regulation distinguishes the soil groups according to land use. § 11(2) allows testing also according to other methodologies referred to in Article 12(2) of the Environmental Protection Law. In our copy of the scopes no laboratory cites PN-EN ISO 15009 — for volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in soil PN-EN ISO 22155 is the only standard cited (see below).

THE LIMIT OF THE METHOD VERSUS THE PERMISSIBLE VALUE — A PLACE FOR A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT. The typical limit of quantification from the card with GC-FID — 0.2 mg/kg — is twice the permissible BTEX content in soils of groups I and II (0.1 mg/kg). Laboratories declare lower limits for benzene: from 0.010 mg/kg (AB 300) and 0.020 mg/kg (AB 213, AB 313, AB 550, AB 1095) through 0.040 (AB 005), 0.05 (AB 646) and 0.075 mg/kg (AB 322) to 0.10 mg/kg (AB 418, AB 719, AB 1185, AB 1302) — none starts above 0.1 mg/kg; AB 387 has no range in the copy. The card says that lower limits — for some compounds — are obtained with mass spectrometry with selected ion detection; what the lower limits with a flame ionisation detector (eight laboratories) result from — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17 September 2026, read on 28 September 2026). All records of number 22155: 24 entries at 13 laboratories. Forms: "PN-EN ISO 22155:2016-07" — most often, also with the note "M" and a procedure number; "PN-EN ISO 22155" without a year; "PN-ISO 22155:2016-07" — two entries (the designation of the withdrawn Polish version of 2009 combined with the date of the present edition). The "Laboratories" tab searches for records BEGINNING with "PN-EN ISO 22155" and shows all 13 laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 29 September 2026: 13. Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 29 September 2026): all entries stand in the valid issues, every numerical range from the copy appears in the current document and no entry is suspended.

WHAT THEY DETERMINE AND WITH WHAT. BTEX and styrene — 12 laboratories; AB 213 also chlorobenzenes and tetrahydrofuran, AB 313 — among others naphthalene, trichlorobenzene and butylbenzenes, AB 1095 — cyclohexane, AB 550 and AB 1185 — petrol (C6–C12 hydrocarbons). Technique: headspace analysis at all of them; flame ionisation detector (HS-GC-FID) — eight laboratories, mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) — six, AB 213 also tandem mass spectrometry. Object: soil and earth, at some also bottom sediments, sewage sludge and waste; AB 550 also applies the standard to secondary fuels (alternative fuels, SRF) — the card speaks of soils.

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. For volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in soil, earth, sediments and waste the copy has, apart from this standard, only in-house procedures (AB 188, AB 283, AB 418, AB 646, AB 894, AB 1059, AB 1249), the general record "Normy" (standards) (AB 213, AB 1711) and at AB 550 — PN-ISO 11423-1 with standards of the PN-EN 12457 series, i.e. a determination in an aqueous eluate from waste.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — PKN sells it (32 pages). We do not give the method of sampling and preserving samples, the sample mass and methanol volume, the headspace conditions, the columns, the internal standards or the precision; nor do we reproduce the list of compounds from the standard.

Method principle

According to the card of the standard, volatile aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons and selected aliphatic ethers are determined in soil by gas chromatography using the static headspace method, and the soil sample is extracted with methanol. The limit of quantification depends on the detector and the purity of the methanol: with a flame ionisation detector typically 0.2 mg/kg for aromatic hydrocarbons and 0.5 mg/kg for ethers (MTBE, TAME), with an electron capture detector 0.01–0.2 mg/kg for halogenated hydrocarbons; lower limits, for some compounds, are obtained with mass spectrometry with selected ion detection. The result is compared with the permissible contents of the regulation on the assessment of land surface contamination. We DO NOT GIVE the analytical conditions — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Assessment of land surface contamination — BTEX and styrene against the permissible contents for soil groups I–IV (Journal of Laws 2016 item 1395); reference methodology from Annex 3
• Soil and earth, sediments, waste — in the accreditation scopes of 13 laboratories; at some also chlorobenzenes, C6–C12 petrol, cyclohexane

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN ISO 22155:2016-07 (wersja angielska)

Title (PL)

Jakość gleby — Oznaczanie lotnych węglowodorów aromatycznych, lotnych węglowodorów halogenowanych oraz wybranych eterów z zastosowaniem chromatografii gazowej — Metoda statycznej analizy fazy nadpowierzchniowej

Title (EN)

Soil quality — Gas chromatographic determination of volatile aromatic and halogenated hydrocarbons and selected ethers — Static headspace method

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status and choice of detector

   PKN card: PN-EN ISO 22155:2016-07 current (state of the card on 29 September 2026). The detector determines the limit of quantification — with FID typically 0.2 mg/kg for aromatics, above the value of 0.1 mg/kg for soils of groups I and II.

2. Sampling and extraction

   The soil sample is extracted with methanol (from the card). Method of sampling and preservation NOT GIVEN.

3. Headspace analysis

   Static headspace analysis and gas chromatography. Conditions NOT GIVEN.

4. Result

   Content in mg/kg of dry matter.

5. Assessment

   Comparison with the permissible contents for the soil group (Journal of Laws 2016 item 1395, Annex 1 point 1); a result "below" is meaningful against 0.1 mg/kg only if the laboratory's limit of quantification is not higher than 0.1 mg/kg.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Benzene is carcinogenic, and methanol is toxic and flammable — work in a fume cupboard
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: the typical limit of quantification from the card with GC-FID (0.2 mg/kg) exceeds the permissible BTEX content in soils of groups I and II (0.1 mg/kg) — for such an assessment ask the laboratory for its limit of quantification

Frequently asked questions