🌿 Isobutyl acetate in workplace air — adsorption of vapour on activated carbon, desorption with carbon disulfide, gas chromatography; lowest determinable concentration according to the standard 25 mg/m³, MAC (NDS) 240 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 720 mg/m³; PN-Z-04119-11:2008 (withdrawn 14-11-2024)

Environment PN-Z-04119-11

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "A method is given consisting of adsorption of isobutyl acetate vapour on activated carbon, desorption of the compound with carbon disulfide and analysis of the resulting solution by gas chromatography. The lowest isobutyl acetate concentration that can be determined by this method is 25 mg/m3" (our translation; no full stop at the end on the card). We did not have the text of the standard (8 pages). The 2017 CIOP article on n-butyl acetate and its isomers (J. Kowalska, PiMOŚP 2017, no. 1(91), pp. 151–165 — read in full) compares earlier national methods in Table 2 and gives for PN-Z-04119-11:2008: determinability 25 mg/m³, 10 l of air at a flow rate not exceeding 5 l/h and desorption with 1 ml of carbon disulfide — we quote this as a description from the article, not from the text of the standard. The CIOP index of methods from 2000–2017 also lists "Isobutyl acetate – no. 4(34) 2002"; we did not read that article.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 431: "Isobutyl acetate [110-19-0]" — NDS 240 mg/m³, NDSCh 720 mg/m³, no "skin" notation; for comparison, item 442: "Propyl acetate [109-60-4]" — NDS 200 mg/m³, NDSCh 400 mg/m³. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card, 25 mg/m³, is about 10 % of the NDS for isobutyl acetate. The 2017 CIOP article states that previously (regulation of 2014) the NDS for isobutyl acetate was 200 mg/m³ and the NDSCh 400 mg/m³.

STATUS (card as of 04.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04119-11:2008 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn": published 01-07-2008, withdrawal date 14-11-2024, 8 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30; in the "Additional elements" field — amendment PN-Z-04119-11:2008/Ap1:2011 (also marked "WITHDRAWN"); the card does not name a replacing standard. The PKN search for "octanu izobutylu" (04.10.2026) returns two standards: the current PN-Z-04520:2020-12 ("Determination of n-butyl acetate and its isomers: isobutyl acetate and sec-butyl acetate …", GC-FID, lowest determinable concentration 24 mg/m³ — a separate entry in this database) and the withdrawn PN-Z-04119-11:2008. Whether PKN regards PN-Z-04520 as the successor is not stated on the cards — we only write that it is the current standard covering the same substance.

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 04119-11 (with a hyphen, dot or slash before the sheet number) appears in 7 records at 5 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 08.01.2026 to 28.07.2026 — all issued after the withdrawal of the standard) — in 7 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. Entries: "PN-Z-04119-11:2008" — AB 632, AB 1144, AB 1642 (two items) and AB 882 (two items, both together with PN-Z-04520:2020-12: GC-FID with procedure PB-01 issue 5 of 12.01.2026, GC-MS with PB-10 issue 1 of 31.08.2022); "PN-Z-04119-11:2008/Ap1:2011" — AB 746. The "Laboratories" tab (query "PN-Z-04119-11") shows all 5 laboratories — checked with a tab query on the production server labcoda.pl on 04.10.2026.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy). Object: working environment — air, samples collected on sorbent tubes or solid sorbent. Quantity: concentration (content) of isobutyl acetate — all 5 laboratories; AB 1642 also has a "propyl acetate" item with this standard (0.090–3020 mg/m³) — consistent with this database's entry on PN-Z-04119-01, which noted this record. Ranges for isobutyl acetate in mg/m³: 0.110–2527 (AB 1642), 0.62–1440 (AB 746), 1.10–1000 (AB 1144), 1.6–2048 (AB 882, GC-MS), 2.0–5838 (AB 882, GC-FID), 24–1440 (AB 632). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — all 5 laboratories; AB 882 additionally has a GC-MS item according to procedure PB-10.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — status: the standard has been withdrawn since 14-11-2024, and the current standard for isobutyl acetate is PN-Z-04520:2020-12; 5 laboratories have the old standard in scopes issued in 2026, AB 882 alongside the new one — the report should cite the standard actually applied. Second — another substance: AB 1642 cites the isobutyl acetate standard for propyl acetate, which has different NDS values (200 and 400 mg/m³); the card does not say that the standard covers propyl acetate. Third — limit of quantification: according to the card 25 mg/m³; AB 632 gives 24 mg/m³, the others from 0.110 to 2.0 mg/m³, which requires conditions different from those in the standard — the report should name them. Fourth — amendment: AB 746 cites the standard with amendment Ap1:2011, the others without it; we do not know the content of the amendment.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We had neither the text of the standard nor of the amendment — we do not give the column, the detector required by the standard, chromatograph conditions, the desorption coefficient or calculations; we give sampling parameters only from the table in the CIOP article. We do not claim that PN-Z-04520:2020-12 formally replaced PN-Z-04119-11:2008 — the cards do not say so.

Method principle

Isobutyl acetate vapour from workplace air is adsorbed on activated carbon, desorbed with carbon disulfide, and the solution is analysed by gas chromatography (PKN card); the result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 240 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 720 mg/m³. The lowest determinable concentration according to the card is 25 mg/m³. The standard is withdrawn (14-11-2024); WE DO NOT GIVE details — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — isobutyl acetate — in the current scopes of 5 laboratories, despite the withdrawal of the standard (current for this substance: PN-Z-04520:2020-12)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 240 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 720 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 431 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04119-11:2008

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości estrów kwasu octowego — Część 11: Oznaczanie octanu izobutylu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for acetic acid esters content — Part 11: Determination of isobutyl acetate at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status

   PN-Z-04119-11:2008 withdrawn on 14-11-2024; current standard covering isobutyl acetate — PN-Z-04520:2020-12 (as of 04.10.2026).

2. Sampling

   Adsorption of vapour on activated carbon (PKN card); according to the table in the CIOP article 10 l at ≤ 5 l/h.

3. Desorption and analysis

   Carbon disulfide, gas chromatography (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 240 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 720 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447); lowest determinable concentration 25 mg/m³.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Carbon disulfide and isobutyl acetate — flammable; work in a fume hood, chemical laboratory safety rules
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn on 14-11-2024; for isobutyl acetate PN-Z-04520:2020-12 is current

Frequently asked questions