🌿 Methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and amyl acetates in workplace air — gas chromatography with sample enrichment, PN-Z-04119-01

Environment PN-Z-04119-01

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The scope from the PKN catalogue card, quoted in full: "The method is used for determining the concentrations of methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and amyl acetates, occurring together or separately in the air surrounding workplaces, when carrying out inspection of sanitary and hygienic conditions. This method should not be used in the presence of substances with the same or similar retention times as the substances tested." The title adds the technique: gas chromatography "with sample enrichment". The card gives no lowest determinable concentration and does not settle which isomer of butyl and amyl acetate is meant.

THE LIMITATION THAT DECIDES WHETHER THE RESULT IS VALID. The second sentence of the scope excludes the method when substances with the same or similar retention times are present in the air. In the air of a workplace where solvent mixtures are used, this is a condition to check with every series of measurements, not a formality: the peak of another substance overlapping the acetate peak gives an overstated result that looks correct.

STATUS (state of the card on 28 September 2026). The card carries the heading "Withdrawn" and the row "Date of withdrawal: 11-08-2014"; there are no "Superseded by" and "Supersedes" fields. Edition: published 19-12-1978, 3 pages, KT 159 (Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment), ICS 13.040.30. For n-butyl acetate and two of its isomers PKN today has a separate standard with no withdrawal note: PN-Z-04520:2020-12 "Air purity protection — Determination of n-butyl acetate and its isomers: isobutyl acetate and sec-butyl acetate at workplaces by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection" (our translation of the title; published 01-12-2020, 8 pages, KT 159; the card has no "Supersedes" field; lowest determinable concentration according to the card — 24 mg/m³; card read on 29 September 2026). The remaining sheets of the PN-Z-04119 series (parts 2–11) concern other acetates — among them isopropyl, isobutyl, sec- and tert-butyl, isopentyl and tert-pentyl acetate (PKN search, query "PN-Z-04119", 29 September 2026). Whether another, valid document for methyl, ethyl, propyl and pentyl acetate stands in the PKN catalogue today — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED.

LIMIT VALUES (Polish NDS list as worded by the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026, item 447): methyl acetate (item 437) — NDS 250 mg/m³, NDSCh 600 mg/m³; ethyl acetate (item 430) — NDS 734 mg/m³ (200 ppm), NDSCh 1468 mg/m³ (400 ppm); propyl acetate (item 442) — NDS 200 mg/m³, NDSCh 400 mg/m³; n-butyl acetate (item 425) — NDS 240 mg/m³, NDSCh 720 mg/m³ (the same for sec-butyl and isobutyl acetate; tert-butyl acetate — 900 mg/m³ for both NDS and NDSCh); pentyl acetate (item 440) — NDS 250 mg/m³, NDSCh 500 mg/m³ (the same for isopentyl and tert-pentyl acetate). None of these rows carries the "skin" notation. The card speaks of "butyl" and "amyl" without a prefix, and the values for the butyl acetate isomers differ — the report should name the isomer determined.

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 number 04119 with sheet 01: 32 entries at 16 laboratories. Forms: "PN-Z-04119-01:1978" — 7 laboratories (12 entries); "PN-78/Z-04119/01" — 6 (10); "PN-78/Z-04119.01" — 3 (4); single "PN-78/Z -04119/01" and "PN-78/ Z -04119/01" (AB 591), "PN-78-Z-04119/01" (AB 1642) and "PN-Z-04119/01:1978" (AB 632). The "Laboratories" tab searches for records BEGINNING with "PN-Z-04119-01" and will show 7 laboratories in 12 entries; it will not see the other nine. SUSPENSION: in the current PCA scope of AB 522 (issue 26 of 18 August 2026) both items of this standard — concentration and content of methyl acetate — are suspended at the laboratory’s request from 18 August 2026 to 14 February 2027 (footnote "*)" at items set in bold italics; read on 29 September 2026). The numbers above include them.

WHICH ACETATES THE LABORATORIES DETERMINE. Methyl acetate — 11 laboratories, ethyl acetate — 8, propyl acetate — 5, butyl acetate — 5 (four write "n-butyl"), pentyl or amyl acetate — 2 (AB 882, AB 1207). Technique: gas chromatography with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) at 15 laboratories, with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) at two (AB 882 — alongside GC-FID, AB 1207); AB 591 gives no technique for the entries in which the concentration is "calculated". Ranges in mg/m³ are given by 14 laboratories — from 0.067 mg/m³ (AB 1642, ethyl and n-butyl acetate) to 4136 mg/m³ (AB 882, ethyl acetate); six also give ppm, 12 — the mass of acetate in the sample.

CLAUSES OF THE STANDARD IN THE SCOPES. For entries with the mass of acetate in the sample, AB 591 excludes clauses 7 and 12 ("excl. cl. 7 and cl. 12"), and for entries with the concentration in air, marked "calculated", it cites precisely clauses 7 and 12. What these clauses contain — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED; the way the records are written only shows that the laboratory separates the analysis of the sample from the conversion to concentration in air. Seven laboratories cite the standard together with their own procedure or instruction (AB 300, AB 522, AB 562, AB 632, AB 882, AB 1207, AB 1854).

OTHER DOCUMENTS FOR THE SAME ACETATES (copy of the database, read on 28 September 2026; rows checked in the current PCA scopes, read on 29 September 2026). For butyl acetate (three of them write "n-butyl") the standard PN-Z-04520:2020-12 is cited by AB 300, AB 882 (two items — GC-FID and GC-MS), AB 1207 and AB 1854, each together with its own procedure or instruction. The standard PN-Z-04023-02:1989 on harmful substances released from nitrocellulose lacquer products, withdrawn on 07-07-2015 (its title lists, among others, "acetates: ethyl, n-butyl, ethoxyethyl"), is cited for ethyl acetate or n-butyl acetate by 12 laboratories: AB 300, AB 522 (item suspended until 14 February 2027), AB 562, AB 565, AB 581, AB 746, AB 869, AB 935, AB 964, AB 1087, AB 1144 and AB 1302. NIOSH methods: AB 1226 — "NIOSH Method 1458 Issue 2 (1994)" for methyl acetate, "NIOSH Method 1457 Issue 1 (1994)" for ethyl acetate and "NIOSH Method 1450 Issue 3 (2003)" for n-propyl, n-butyl and pentyl acetate, each together with the procedure "EHS-PB-10 wyd. 5 z 29.05.2019" (scope issue 26 of 17 September 2026, p. 7/18 — items suspended at the laboratory’s request from 10 June 2026 to 7 December 2026); AB 1642 — "NIOSH METHOD 1450, Issue 3, 15 March 2003" for amyl (pentyl) acetate (issue 23 of 28 July 2026, p. 17/42). AB 1642 also records, for propyl acetate, the standard PN-Z-04119-11:2008 — the sheet of this series on isobutyl acetate (marked as withdrawn in the PKN search results; scope p. 14/42). Apart from these documents, the copy holds for the five acetates only the laboratories’ own procedures and the general entry "Normy, Procedury badawcze" (Standards, test procedures; AB 934). We did not compare the content of these documents with the standard.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — PKN supplies it for a fee (3 pages). We do not give the enrichment technique, sorbent or solvent, air volume, chromatographic conditions, lowest determinable concentration, formula or precision.

Method principle

According to the card: methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and amyl acetates present in workplace air, together or separately, are determined by gas chromatography with sample enrichment (title of the standard). The method is not used when substances with the same or similar retention times as the substances tested are present in the air. We DO NOT GIVE the enrichment technique, chromatographic conditions or lowest determinable concentration — we did not have the text of the standard, and the card does not list them.

Applications

• Measurements of acetates in workplace air — five esters of acetic acid determined together or separately
• Assessment against the NDS and NDSCh of each acetate separately (Journal of Laws 2026, item 447) — the values differ between acetates, and for butyl acetate also between isomers
• In accreditation scopes most often methyl acetate (11 laboratories), then ethyl acetate (8), propyl and butyl acetate (5 each)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04119-01:1978 (wersja polska)

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości estrów kwasu octowego — Oznaczanie octanów metylu, etylu, propylu, butylu i amylu na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej z wzbogacaniem próbki

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for acetic acid ester content — Determination of methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and amyl acetates at workplaces by gas chromatography with sample enrichment

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status of the document

   PKN card: standard withdrawn on 11-08-2014, no "Superseded by" field (state of the card on 28 September 2026). In the report give the full designation: PN-Z-04119-01:1978.

2. Checking the condition of use

   Establish that the workplace air contains no substances with the same or similar retention times as the acetates determined. If it does — the card excludes the use of the method.

3. Sampling and enrichment

   According to the title of the standard, the sample is enriched before the determination. Technique, air volume and flow rate NOT GIVEN.

4. Chromatographic determination

   The acetates are determined by gas chromatography, together or each separately. Conditions NOT GIVEN.

5. Result and assessment

   The concentration of each acetate is compared with its NDS and NDSCh; for butyl acetate the value depends on the isomer, so the report names it.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and amyl acetates are flammable liquids — standard solutions are prepared away from ignition sources; safety data sheets apply
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the card excludes the method in the presence of substances with the same or similar retention times — skipping this check gives an overstated result that looks correct

Frequently asked questions