🌿 Methanol (methyl alcohol) in workplace air — absorption of the vapour in distilled water, gas chromatography; MAC (NDS) 100 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 300 mg/m³, "skin"; PN-Z-04028-01:1981 (withdrawn 17-10-2011)

Environment PN-Z-04028-01

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "A method is described consisting in absorption of methyl alcohol vapour in distilled water and chromatography of the solution obtained. The apparatus and instruments, reagents and solutions, the sampling procedure, the chromatograph operating conditions, the preparation of the calibration curve and the calculation of the result are given" (our translation; no full stop at the end on the card). The card does not give the limit of quantification, the detector or the air volume. We did not have the text of the standard (2 pages). The CIOP method index lists the article "Metanol" in the quarterly "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" No. 3(81) of 2014 — we have not read it.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 359: "Methanol [67-56-1]" — NDS 100 mg/m³, NDSCh 300 mg/m³, "skin" notation, no note on the fraction; the substance is not covered by the transitional provisions of § 2. The card of this standard gives no limit of quantification; the card of PN-Z-04476:2016-10 gives 10 mg/m³ for 5 l of air, i.e. 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (cards as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04028-01:1981 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn" without naming a replacing standard: publication 14-12-1981, withdrawal date 17-10-2011, 2 pages, price group A, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30. The card of PN-Z-04476:2016-10 ("… Determination of methanol at workplaces by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection") has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Replaces" field: publication 19-10-2016, 8 pages; it is described in a separate entry of this database. PKN search (05.10.2026): under "PN-Z-04028" — 2 parts of the series "Tests for methyl alcohol content": -00:1981 (general provisions and scope) and -01:1981, both labelled "Withdrawn"; under "alkoholu metylowego" (first 50 results), on methanol in air — besides this series only the withdrawn PN-Z-04038:1955 and PN-Z-04038:1966; under "metanolu" and "metanol" the only standard on methanol in workplace air is PN-Z-04476:2016-10.

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 04028-01 appears in 5 records at 3 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 29.01.2026 to 22.04.2026) — in 5 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-81/Z-04028.01" — AB 481 (three entries; for waste gases together with PN-Z-04008-4:1999) and AB 875 (together with the current PN-Z-04476:2016-10 in one entry); "PN-Z-04028-01:1981" — AB 1168. The "Laboratories" tab searches for records beginning with the term entered: "PN-81/Z-04028.01" shows 2 laboratories, "PN-Z-04028-01" — 1, 3 in total — the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries on 05.10.2026). According to the database copy, PN-Z-04476:2016-10 is in the scopes of 12 laboratories, including AB 875.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). AB 481 — three entries, all with samples collected into an absorbing solution: working environment, air — concentration and content of methanol 4–400 mg/m³ (10–1000 µg per sample); rooms in residential buildings, collective accommodation and public buildings — methanol content 10–1000 µg per sample; general environment, waste gases — methanol content 10–1000 µg per sample. AB 875 — working environment, air, samples collected into an absorbing solution and on sorbent tubes: 8.0–600 mg/m³ (0.080–6.0 mg per sample). AB 1168 — working environment, air: 1.39–600 mg/m³. Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — all entries.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — withdrawn standard: this standard has not been valid since 17-10-2011; the report should state explicitly that the standard is withdrawn. Second — two standards in one entry: AB 875 cites the old and the current standard together, and its subject covers both an absorbing solution and sorbent tubes; the scope does not show which sampling method corresponds to which standard — the card of the old standard speaks of absorption in distilled water. Third — a different subject: AB 481 applies the standard "at workplaces" also to indoor air and to waste gases (there together with PN-Z-04008-4:1999), with a result only in µg per sample; the NDS values are not a reference value for these subjects. Fourth — limit of quantification: the card does not give it, so the laboratories' ranges (from 1.39 mg/m³) cannot be compared with it.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the limit of quantification, the volume of water, the type of absorption vessel, the volume or flow rate of the air sample, the detector according to the standard, the column, the chromatograph conditions, the calibration curve or the calculations, although the card says the standard contains them. We do not claim that PN-Z-04476:2016-10 replaced this standard — the cards do not say so. We do not give the content of PN-Z-04008-4:1999 — we have not checked its card. We do not give the content of the CIOP article of 2014 — we have not read it.

Method principle

Methyl alcohol (methanol) vapour from workplace air is absorbed in distilled water and the solution obtained is chromatographed (PKN card); the standard also gives the calibration curve and the calculation of the result. The result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 100 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 300 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). The standard has been withdrawn since 17-10-2011; the current standard for methanol is PN-Z-04476:2016-10.

Applications

• Workplace air — methanol — in the current scopes of 3 laboratories despite the withdrawal of the standard (the current PN-Z-04476:2016-10 — at 12, including AB 875)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 100 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 300 mg/m³, with the "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 359 of the list); at AB 481 also indoor air and waste gases

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04028-01:1981

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości alkoholu metylowego — Oznaczanie alkoholu metylowego na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for methyl alcohol content — Determination of methyl alcohol at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   Absorption of methyl alcohol vapour in distilled water (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume and flow rate.

2. Calibration

   Calibration curve (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the concentrations of the standards.

3. Analysis

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

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration of methanol in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 100 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 300 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Methanol — safety rules of the chemical laboratory
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn since 17-10-2011 — the current standard is PN-Z-04476:2016-10; AB 875 cites both standards in one entry

Frequently asked questions