🌿 Determination of volatile organic compounds (VOC — eluting from n-hexane to n-hexadecane), very volatile (VVOC) and semi-volatile (SVOC) organic compounds and their sums TVOC and TSVOC in indoor air and in the air of emission test chambers and cells — active sampling of a measured air volume on sorbent tubes (Tenax TA or up to 3 sorbents), thermal desorption via a focusing trap and gas chromatography with a capillary column and MS detector, with or without an additional FID; concentrations from micrograms to several milligrams per cubic metre; ISO 16000-6:2021

Environment ISO 16000-6

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. We read the text of the standard in the iTeh sample of ISO 16000-6:2021 (third edition, English text): contents, foreword, introduction, Clauses 1–6 and Clause 7 up to 7.1.2 — the sample ends on page 7. We do not read the rest of the apparatus, conditioning and storage of tubes (8), sampling (9), analysis (10), calculation of concentrations (11), performance characteristics (12), test report (13), quality control (14) or Annexes A–F (TVOC and TSVOC, examples of compounds, description and selection of sorbents, safe sampling volumes, storage recovery); we know the titles from the contents.

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF ISO 16000-6:2021. The standard was prepared by ISO/TC 146 “Air quality”, Subcommittee SC 6 “Indoor air”. The third edition replaces the second (ISO 16000-6:2011); main changes: sorbents other than Tenax TA are allowed, and descriptions of VVOC and SVOC measurements were moved into the normative part. Introduction: ISO 16000-5 (VOC sampling strategy) links ISO 16000-1 with this part; the method is used in buildings, transport cabins and emission test chambers; the measurement task may be well defined (list of target compounds, sampling time, sensitivity) or open (investigating a poorly understood indoor air quality problem); Tenax TA alone or a combination of sorbents can be chosen — a wider volatility range and better recovery. Scope (1): determination of VOC in indoor air and in air sampled to determine emissions from products and materials in test chambers and cells; sorbent tubes, thermal desorption (TD), GC with a capillary column and MS detector with or without an additional FID; most GC-compatible vapour-phase organic compounds, from micrograms to several milligrams per m³; many VVOC and SVOC — depending on the sorbents. References (2): ISO 16000-1, EN 13137 (personal sampling pumps). Definitions (3), on a 5 % phenyl 95 % methyl polysiloxane column: VVOC — elute before n-hexane; VOC — from n-hexane to n-hexadecane inclusive; SVOC — after n-hexadecane (the vapour fraction up to n-C44 can be analysed by TD-GC-MS under specific conditions); TVOC and TSVOC — sums of identified and unidentified compounds calculated according to Annex A; target compound; task list (requirements defined before testing); laboratory blank (tube from the batch kept in the laboratory) and field blank (tube handled in the field in the same way, without sampling); internal standard. Principle (5): a measured volume of air from a room, vehicle interior, emission test chamber (ISO 16000-9, ISO 12219-4, ISO 12219-6) or cell (ISO 16000-10) is drawn through one or more tubes; the compounds are thermally desorbed and transferred in inert gas via a focusing trap to the GC. Reagents (6): sorbents from very strong (VVOC) to very weak (SVOC), particle size 0.18–0.60 mm; Tenax TA (polymer of 2,6-diphenylene oxide, approx. 0.25–0.6 mm) requires removal of impurities before use; graphitized carbon black sorbents (e.g. Carbopack X, Carbograph 5 TD) — hydrophobic, for VOC and VVOC with vapour pressures below those typical of C4 hydrocarbons; carbon molecular sieves — at the end of the tube for the most volatile, not completely hydrophobic, so the tube is dry-purged before analysis. Standards on tubes (6.4): standard atmospheres e.g. according to ISO 6141 or ISO 6145, typically about 100 µg/m³, volumes e.g. 100 ml–10 l, not above the breakthrough volume, fresh standard tubes for each batch; solutions 10–1000 ng/µl (e.g. in methanol), 1 µl aliquots introduced through an unheated GC injector in a gas stream of 100 ± 10 ml/min for 5 min; gas purity should allow detection of 0.5 ng toluene; certified pre-loaded standard tubes are available. Apparatus (7.1): steel or glass tubes, e.g. outside diameter 6.4 mm, inside 5 mm, length 89 mm, sealed with caps and PTFE ferrules; the breakthrough volume (determined according to ISO 16017-1, Annex B) depends on temperature and bed dimensions — the safe sampling volume is typically 2/3 of the breakthrough volume, a temperature rise of 10 °C roughly halves the breakthrough volume, and most data are given for 20 °C; humidity reduces it for some sorbents; up to 3 sorbents, weakest at the sampling end; about 200 mg Tenax TA suits VOC and compounds boiling up to about n-C22; for SVOC — a short bed of quartz wool in front of the Tenax (the sample text reads “200 ng of Tenax TA” — the neighbouring sentence speaks of 200 mg); for VVOC — 20 mm of a stronger sorbent after the Tenax; example: quartz wool 5 mm, 175 mg Tenax TA (approx. 35 mm) and 15–20 mm Carbograph 5 TD or Carbopack X — from 1,3-butadiene to n-C30 or beyond; sorbents within the central approx. 60 mm of the tube; optimum flow 20–200 ml/min.

STATUS (as of 03.10.2026). The PKN search engine (query “16000-6”, 03.10.2026) shows no standard at all — laboratories cite the ISO document. In the iTeh search results (read 03.10.2026) the latest edition is ISO 16000-6:2021 (next to the 2004 and 2011 editions and the Slovenian SIST ISO 16000-6:2023).

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read 03.10.2026). The number 16000-6 appears in 8 records at 4 laboratories: AB 023, AB 053, AB 128, AB 1207. In the current PCA documents (read 03.10.2026; AB 023 issue no. 31 of 16.07.2025, AB 1207 issue no. 26 of 11.06.2026, AB 128 issue no. 25 of 24.06.2026, AB 053 issue no. 25 of 01.09.2026) the number appears at the same 4 laboratories; in every document the number of page markers equals the number of PDF pages, without repetitions; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from BIP on 03.10.2026 found no laboratories outside the database copy. The form “ISO 16000-6:2021” at AB 023, AB 053 and AB 1207; “ISO 16000-6” without year at AB 128 (two items). None of these items is suspended. The “Laboratories” tab (query “ISO 16000-6”) shows all 4 Polish laboratories and 4 Czech ones — checked by a tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 03.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (items in PCA). AB 1207: ambient air and indoor air sampled on Tenax TA tubes — TVOC as toluene equivalent (0.10–2.50) µg per sample, TD-GC-MS. AB 053: construction products and interior furnishings — TVOC emission in large and small chambers (1–1000) µg/m³, TD-GC-MS, together with PN-EN ISO 16000-9:2024. AB 128: plastics, textiles, foams, leather and rubber — VOC emitted in an environmental chamber, TD-GC-FID-MS, and identification of organic compounds by GC-MS with the NIST 14 mass spectral library, with instruction BOSMAL/I-7-64. AB 023: in-situ sampling of air in residential and public buildings and workplaces (together with ISO 16000-3:2022).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. TVOC: the sum is defined — compounds eluting from n-hexane to n-hexadecane on a 5 % phenyl polysiloxane column, calculated according to Annex A (3.2, 3.4); the result “TVOC as toluene equivalent” at AB 1207 is one way of conversion, and the wording alone does not tell whether it is the sum according to Annex A (which we do not read). Sampling volume: exceeding the breakthrough volume biases the result low without a trace in the sample chromatogram — the safe volume is typically 2/3 of breakthrough, and heat (+10 °C ≈ half) and humidity reduce it (7.1.1, Note 2). VVOC: Tenax TA alone does not retain them quantitatively — a stronger sorbent is needed, and carbon molecular sieves take up water and require dry purging (6.3.5, 7.1.2). Standards: excess solvent in liquid spiking may push out the most volatile compounds; the standard recommends 1 µl or less (6.4.3–6.4.4). Gas purity: contaminants of the carrier gas are enriched on the sorbent together with the analytes (6.4.4). Edition: the 2021 edition allows other sorbents and moves VVOC and SVOC into the normative part — an item “ISO 16000-6” without year does not say which edition the laboratory applies.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We do not quote tube conditioning, sampling and thermal desorption conditions, GC-MS conditions, identification and quantification, limits of quantification, formulae, precision data or tables of safe sampling volumes — they lie outside the sample. We do not summarize ISO 16000-1, -5, -9 and -10, ISO 16017-1 or ISO 12219 in this entry. We do not give limit or guideline values for TVOC in indoor air or emission classes of products.

Method principle

A measured volume of air is drawn by a pump through a tube filled with one or more sorbents that retain organic compounds of different volatility. In the laboratory the tube is heated in a thermal desorber, and the released compounds pass in inert gas through a focusing trap to a gas chromatograph with a capillary column. The MS detector (with or without FID) is used to identify and quantify target compounds and to calculate the TVOC sum; the air concentration follows from the mass of the compound and the volume of air sampled.

Applications

• VOC, VVOC and SVOC in indoor air — buildings of various purposes and transport cabins (introduction, 1)
• Air of chambers and cells for testing emissions from products and materials (1, 5)
• TVOC and TSVOC sums according to Annex A (3.4, 3.5)
• Indoor air and product emissions — 8 accreditation scope records of 4 laboratories in PCA

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

ISO 16000-6:2021

Title (PL)

Powietrze wnętrz — Część 6: Oznaczanie związków organicznych (VVOC, VOC, SVOC) w powietrzu wnętrz i w powietrzu komór badawczych metodą aktywnego pobierania próbek na rurki sorpcyjne, termicznej desorpcji i chromatografii gazowej z detekcją MS lub MS-FID

Title (EN)

Indoor air — Part 6: Determination of organic compounds (VVOC, VOC, SVOC) in indoor and test chamber air by active sampling on sorbent tubes, thermal desorption and gas chromatography using MS or MS FID

Step-by-step procedure

1. Tube selection

   Sorbents according to the target list and task (introduction, 7.1.2). ISO 16000-6:2021 — no PN (03.10.2026).

2. Conditioning

   Tubes conditioned and tightly sealed; laboratory and field blanks (3.8, 3.9; Clause 8 outside the sample).

3. Sampling

   Measured volume not above the safe volume (7.1.1; Clause 9 outside the sample).

4. Analysis

   Thermal desorption, focusing trap, GC-MS (with or without FID), standards on tubes (5, 6.4; Clause 10 outside the sample).

5. Result

   Concentrations of target compounds and TVOC/TSVOC (3.4, 3.5; Clause 11 and Annex A outside the sample).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Standard tubes from atmospheres and solutions are prepared at controlled temperature; solutions are checked for deterioration, e.g. reactions between alcohols and ketones (6.4.3, 6.4.4)

Frequently asked questions