🌿 2-Methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate in workplace air — adsorption on activated carbon, desorption with methanol in carbon disulfide, gas chromatography, PN-Z-04119-10

Environment PN-Z-04119-10

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The scope from the PKN card, quoted in full: "A method is given consisting in the adsorption of 2-methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate vapours on activated carbon, desorption of the compound with a solution of methanol in carbon disulfide and analysis of the solution obtained by gas chromatography. The lowest concentration of 2-methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate that can be determined by this method is 32.5 mg/m3" (our translation of the Polish card). The card does not give the detector, the air volume, the flow rate, the separation conditions or the calibration. The standard is Part 10 of the PN-Z-04119 series "Tests for acetic acid esters" (sheet 01 — methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and amyl acetates — has a separate Knowledge Base entry). The CIOP-PIB database of chemical agents gives for this substance as determination methods "PN-Z-04119-10:2008" and "PiMOŚP 2002, nr 4(34)" — we did not have the article from the quarterly "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy".

LIMIT VALUES. According to the regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 26 March 2026 (Journal of Laws 2026, item 447, annex, item 435), for 2-methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate [108-65-6] the NDS (8-hour value) is 260 mg/m³ and the NDSCh (short-term value) 520 mg/m³, with the "skin" notation (the substance is absorbed through the skin).

STATUS (state of the card on 29 September 2026). The card of PN-Z-04119-10:2008 (Polish version) has no "Wycofana" (withdrawn) header — the standard is CURRENT: published 01-07-2008, 8 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, PKN technical committee KT 159 (Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment), ICS 13.040.30; in the fields "Corrections and errata" and "Additional elements" — PN-Z-04119-10:2008/Ap1:2011. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04119" (29 September 2026) shows the whole series — sheets 00, 01, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11; sheets 00, 01, 2 and 11 are labelled "Wycofana" (withdrawn), sheet 10 is not.

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 sheet 04119-10: 14 records of the copy at 12 laboratories (AB 882 — two entries; at AB 1144 two records are one row of the PCA document). "PN-Z-04119-10:2008" — 10 laboratories, with the correction — AB 719 ("+ Ap1:2011") and AB 746 ("/Ap1:2011"). A procedure next to the standard — AB 300 (IN-59, issue 3 of 18.12.2025), AB 882 (PB-01, issue 5 of 12.01.2026, and PB-10, issue 1 of 31.08.2022) and AB 1207 (PB-06A). The "Laboratories" tab searches for records BEGINNING with "PN-Z-04119-10" and will show all 12 laboratories — checked with the tab query on the labcoda.pl production server on 29 September 2026: 12. Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 29 September 2026, issues from 26 November 2025 to 17 September 2026): all entries stand in the valid issues and every pair of range limits from the copy appears in the current document (in the scope of AB 746 the footnote on suspension concerns other entries); the entry of AB 1226 is SUSPENDED — issue No. 26 of 17 September 2026 marks it in bold italics with the footnote "Accreditation suspended at the request of the body in the part of the scope marked in bold italics from 10.06.2026 to 07.12.2026" (our translation; checked on the image of page 10).

TEST ITEM, TECHNIQUE AND RANGES. Workplace air — all 12 laboratories; AB 1207 also ambient and indoor air. Technique: GC-FID — 11 laboratories; GC-MS — AB 1207 and the second entry of AB 882. Concentration ranges: lower limits from 0.150 mg/m³ (AB 1642), 0.17 (AB 1207) and 0.18 (AB 886) to 20 (AB 647) and 26 mg/m³ (AB 632, AB 1226); upper limits from 520 mg/m³ (AB 647) to 3291 (AB 1642) and 8000 mg/m³ (AB 882); AB 719 gives only the mass in the sample, (0.0060 – 15.0) mg. A lower limit below the lowest determinable concentration from the card (32.5 mg/m³) is found at all 11 laboratories that give a concentration range — including those without an in-house procedure.

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. 2-Methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate in workplace air without this standard is determined by 10 laboratories under in-house procedures: AB 481 (TSO/PB-08), AB 802 (PB-06/09), AB 849 (PB-29), AB 863 (PB-07), AB 869 (EKOLAB/LB/PB-08), AB 875 (PB 025), AB 934 ("Normy, Procedury badawcze" — standards, test procedures), AB 940 (PB-17, PB-23), AB 1065 (PB-06) and AB 1183 (PB-02); AB 647 and AB 719 also have procedures PB-14 and PA-52 next to the entry with this standard. In waste gases — under PN-EN 13649:2005 at 10 laboratories and in the flexible scope of AB 934 ("Normy, Procedury badawcze"); in indoor air — AB 481 (TSO/PB-08, (52 – 10 000) µg/m³). The same scopes contain PN-Z-04178-02 (vinyl acetate — at 7 of these 12 laboratories) and PN-Z-04449 (butan-2-one — at 8), described in separate Knowledge Base entries.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard or of correction Ap1:2011 — PKN sells them (8 pages). We do not give the air volume and flow rate, the type of tube, the composition and volume of the desorption solution, the column, the detector and the separation conditions, the calibration, the formula or the content of the correction.

Method principle

According to the PKN card, 2-methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate vapours from workplace air are adsorbed on activated carbon, desorbed with a solution of methanol in carbon disulfide and the solution obtained is analysed by gas chromatography; lowest determinable concentration — 32.5 mg/m³. Sampling and separation conditions are NOT GIVEN — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• 2-Methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate in workplace air — in the scopes of 12 laboratories (NDS 260 mg/m³, NDSCh 520 mg/m³, "skin")
• Ambient and indoor air — AB 1207 (GC-MS)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04119-10:2008 (wersja polska) z poprawką PN-Z-04119-10:2008/Ap1:2011

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości estrów kwasu octowego — Część 10: Oznaczanie octanu 2-metoksy-1-metyloetylu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for acetic acid esters — Part 10: Determination of 2-methoxy-1-methylethyl acetate at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status of the document

   PKN card: PN-Z-04119-10:2008 current, with correction Ap1:2011 (state of the card on 29 September 2026).

2. Sampling

   Air drawn through an activated carbon tube; volume and flow rate NOT GIVEN.

3. Desorption

   With a solution of methanol in carbon disulfide (PKN card).

4. Analysis

   Gas chromatography of the solution; lowest determinable concentration 32.5 mg/m³ (card); in the accreditation scopes an FID or MS detector.

5. Result

   Concentration in mg/m³ for comparison with the NDS of 260 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 520 mg/m³; formula NOT GIVEN.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Carbon disulfide is extremely flammable and toxic, methanol toxic — work in a fume hood, with no ignition sources
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: the lowest determinable concentration on the card (32.5 mg/m³) is higher than the lower range limits of all 11 laboratories that give a concentration range — when asking for the test, ask for the limit of quantification and the document under which it was determined

Frequently asked questions