🌿 Copper and its compounds — fumes and dusts — in workplace air: membrane filter, elution of fumes with water, mineralisation of the insoluble part (dusts) with concentrated nitric(V) acid, flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS); lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 0.02 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 0.2 mg/m³ (as Cu); PN-Z-04106-3:2002 (withdrawn 30-01-2020)

Environment PN-Z-04106-3

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN catalogue card, in full (our translation): "A method is given consisting in passing a known amount of air through a membrane filter in order to deposit fumes and dusts of copper and its compounds on it. The filter with the sample is placed in a filtration set and the copper fumes are eluted with water; the remaining insoluble part of the sample containing copper dusts is mineralised using concentrated nitric (V) acid. Copper in the solutions obtained is determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The lowest concentration of copper that can be determined by this method is 0.02 mg/m3" (no full stop at the end on the card). We did not have the text of the standard (7 pages); we did not read a CIOP article with this method.

NDS VALUE (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 394: "Copper [7440-50-8] and its inorganic compounds – as Cu" — NDS 0.2 mg/m³, no NDSCh and no separation into fumes and dusts. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 0.02 mg/m³, is 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04106-3:2002 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 21-03-2002, withdrawal date 30-01-2020, 7 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the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 "PN-Z-04106-3" and "miedzi i jej związków" (copper and its compounds) (04.10.2026) shows no current standard for copper in workplace air — among standards on copper in air it returns only PN-Z-04254:1997 for heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni) in suspended dust in ambient air (immission), which does not concern workplaces. The whole PN-Z-04106 series, together with the older part PN-Z-04106-02:1979, is described in a separate entry of this database, available in Polish only: „Miedź i jej związki w powietrzu stanowisk pracy — AAS, seria PN-Z-04106 (obie normy wycofane)”.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data load up to 17.09.2026, read on 04.10.2026). The number 04106-3 appears in 17 records at 15 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 15.07.2025 to 01.10.2026 — all issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 17 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. Form "PN-Z-04106-3:2002" — 12 laboratories without additions; AB 1065 — "excluding clause 9.1" (two items); AB 340 — "excluding clauses 9.1 and 10.1"; AB 719 — "PN-Z-04106-3:2002 pkt 7" (clause 7) next to procedure PA-29 edition 18 of 30.01.2026 "excluding clause 3.6". The "Laboratories" tab (query "PN-Z-04106-3") shows all 15 laboratories — checked with the tab's query on the production server labcoda.pl on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air, air samples collected on filters. Quantity: concentration (content) of copper and its inorganic compounds as Cu (at AB 975 and AB 438 — inhalable fraction). Ranges in mg/m³: 0.0014–0.5 (AB 875), 0.003–3.5 (AB 1037), 0.003–4.0 (AB 340), 0.003–6.9 (AB 849), 0.005–1.0 (AB 1302), 0.005–2.4 (AB 940), 0.007–0.6 (AB 647), 0.007–0.95 (AB 975), 0.010–0.69 (AB 418), 0.014–0.486 (AB 1257), 0.014–0.72 (AB 882), 0.014–1.4 (AB 1065), 0.017–0.43 (AB 821); per sample: 0.002–0.288 mg (AB 438, concentration calculated), 0.00050–5.00 mg (AB 719). Technique: flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) — 14 laboratories; AB 719 — inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 30-01-2020 and the card indicates no successor; 15 laboratories have it in scopes issued since July 2025 — the customer should know that the result is produced according to a standard withdrawn from the PKN catalogue. Second — limit of quantification: according to the card the lowest concentration determinable by this method is 0.02 mg/m³; all 13 laboratories with a range in mg/m³ state a lower bottom limit (from 0.0014 to 0.017 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Third — fumes and dusts: the standard splits the sample into a water-soluble part (fumes) and an insoluble part (dusts) and determines copper in both solutions, while the NDS in the list covers copper and its inorganic compounds together — how the two results are combined the card does not say, and WE DO NOT GIVE this. Fourth — exclusions: AB 1065 and AB 340 exclude clause 9.1 (AB 340 also 10.1), and AB 719 cites only clause 7 and determines copper by ICP-OES; WE DO NOT GIVE the content of these clauses without the text of the standard.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the volume or flow rate of air sampling, the type of filter, the filtration set, the mineralisation procedure, the wavelength, measurement conditions or calculations. We do not claim that another standard has replaced PN-Z-04106-3:2002 — PKN indicates none.

Method principle

A known amount of workplace air is passed through a membrane filter on which fumes and dusts of copper and its compounds are deposited. The filter is placed in a filtration set and the copper fumes are eluted with water; the remaining insoluble part of the sample (dusts) is mineralised with concentrated nitric(V) acid. Copper in both solutions is determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry; the result as Cu is compared with the NDS of 0.2 mg/m³. Lowest determinable concentration according to the card — 0.02 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (30-01-2020); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — copper and its inorganic compounds (fumes and dusts) as Cu — in the current scopes of 15 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 0.2 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 394 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04106-3:2002

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości miedzi i jej związków — Oznaczanie dymów i pyłów miedzi i jej związków na stanowiskach pracy metodą płomieniowej absorpcyjnej spektrometrii atomowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for copper and its compounds — Determination of fumes and dusts of copper and its compounds at workplaces by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04106-3:2002 withdrawn 30-01-2020, no successor indicated (card as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Known amount of air through a membrane filter; WE DO NOT GIVE details.

3. Separation and mineralisation

   Elution of fumes with water in a filtration set; mineralisation of dusts with concentrated nitric(V) acid.

4. Measurement, result and assessment

   FAAS in both solutions; concentration as Cu compared with the NDS of 0.2 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 0.02 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Work with concentrated nitric(V) acid during mineralisation and with the spectrometer flame — chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 30-01-2020; a bottom limit below 0.02 mg/m³ requires conditions different from those in the standard

Frequently asked questions