🌿 Mineral oil (oil mist) in workplace air — glass-fibre filter and ultraviolet spectrometry, PN-Z-04108-6

Environment PN-Z-04108-6

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The scope from the PKN catalogue card, quoted in full: "A method is described consisting in passing a known quantity of air through a glass-fibre filter in order to collect mineral oils on it, desorption with cyclohexane and determination in the resulting solution by ultraviolet absorption spectrometry. The lowest concentration of mineral oils that can be determined by this method is 1.0 mg/m3." Amendment PN-Z-04108-6:2006/Az1:2009 — the "Scope" field of its card in full: "The parameters of the method in Chapters 7 and 10 have been changed so that the lowest concentration of mineral oils that can be determined by this method is 0.5 mg/m3."

TWO LIMITS IN ONE STANDARD — THE AMENDMENT DECIDES. Without amendment Az1 the lowest determinable concentration is 1.0 mg/m³ (one fifth of the NDS), with it — 0.5 mg/m³ (one tenth of the NDS). Citing the standard without "/Az1:2009" therefore points to the method with a limit twice as high. What exactly was changed in chapters 7 and 10 — WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED; the card of the amendment states only its purpose.

STATUS (state of the cards on 28 September 2026). Both cards — of the standard and of the amendment — have no withdrawal note and no "Superseded by" field; the standard with its amendment is CURRENT. Standard: published 03-11-2006, 6 pages, KT 159 (Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment), ICS 13.040.30, supersedes PN-Z-04108-02:1980. Amendment Az1: published 24-09-2009, 2 pages. Next to it stands part 5 of the same series, PN-Z-04108-5, with determination in the infrared after desorption with 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane — it has a separate entry in this knowledge base.

THE LIMIT VALUE AND ITS RESERVATIONS. The Polish NDS list as worded by the regulation of 26 March 2026 (Journal of Laws 2026, item 447), item 448: "Highly refined mineral oils, excluding metalworking fluids – inhalable fraction" — NDS 5 mg/m³, no NDSCh. According to the footnote of the list, highly refined oils are "oils with an insignificant content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are not classified as carcinogenic in the European Union"; the inhalable fraction is defined according to PN-EN 481. The row does not cover metalworking fluids, and for oils previously used in internal combustion engines the list gives only the "skin" notation, with no numerical value.

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 04108 with part 6: 19 entries at 16 laboratories. Amendment Az1:2009 is cited by 15 of them — in the forms "+Az1:2009", " + Az1:2009", "/Az1:2009" or as a second document next to the standard; only AB 340 cites the standard without the amendment. The "Laboratories" tab searches for records BEGINNING with "PN-Z-04108-6" and will show 15 laboratories in 18 entries; AB 484, which writes "PN-Z-04108-06:2006+Az1:2009" with a zero before the part number, remains outside it. SUSPENSION: in the current PCA scope of AB 1226 (issue 26 of 17 September 2026) the item of this standard is suspended at the laboratory’s request from 10 June 2026 to 7 December 2026 (footnote "*)" at items set in bold italics; read on 29 September 2026). The numbers above include it.

TECHNIQUE AND RANGES IN THE ACCREDITATION SCOPES. Ten laboratories record ultraviolet (UV) spectrometry, six — a "spectrophotometric method" without naming the spectral region. Every one of the 16 laboratories gives a range in mg/m³: lower limits from 0.14 mg/m³ (AB 343, AB 484) to 0.5 mg/m³ (AB 489, AB 552, AB 849, AB 1168, AB 1257); eleven declare a lower limit below the 0.5 mg/m³ of amendment Az1, and all of them — below the 1.0 mg/m³ of the standard alone. AB 340, which does not cite the amendment, declares from 0.3 mg/m³. Upper limits: from 10 mg/m³ (among others AB 484, AB 632, AB 849) to 41.7 mg/m³ (AB 1226 — item suspended until 7 December 2026). The test name taken from the row of the list — "excluding metalworking fluids" — is repeated by 15 laboratories, the "inhalable fraction" by 12. AB 632 cites the standard together with its own instruction.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard or of the amendment — PKN supplies them for a fee (6 and 2 pages). We do not give the air volume and flow rate, the type of sampler, the wavelength, the calibration, the formula or the precision; nor do we know which parameters of chapters 7 and 10 Az1 changed.

Method principle

According to the cards of the standard and the amendment: a known quantity of air is passed through a glass-fibre filter on which mineral oil in the form of a liquid aerosol is collected; the oil is desorbed with cyclohexane and determined in the resulting solution by ultraviolet absorption spectrometry. Lowest determinable concentration: 1.0 mg/m³ according to the standard, 0.5 mg/m³ after amendment Az1:2009, which changed the method parameters in chapters 7 and 10. The result is assessed against the NDS of 5 mg/m³ for highly refined oils, excluding metalworking fluids, in the inhalable fraction. We DO NOT GIVE the parameters — we did not have the texts.

Applications

• Oil mist at workplaces — assessment against NDS 5 mg/m³ for highly refined mineral oils, inhalable fraction (Journal of Laws 2026, item 447, item 448 of the list)
• Not for metalworking fluids — the row of the NDS list excludes them explicitly
• An alternative to part 5 of this series (infrared): a different desorption solvent (cyclohexane) and a different spectral region (ultraviolet)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04108-6:2006 wraz ze zmianą PN-Z-04108-6:2006/Az1:2009 (obie wersje polskie)

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości olejów — Część 6: Oznaczanie oleju mineralnego (faza ciekła aerozolu) na stanowiskach pracy metodą spektrometrii absorpcyjnej w nadfiolecie

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for oil content — Part 6: Determination of mineral oil (liquid phase of aerosol) at workplaces by ultraviolet absorption spectrometry

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status of the document and edition

   PKN cards: standard and amendment Az1:2009 current (state of the cards on 28 September 2026). Cite the standard together with the amendment — without it the limit is 1.0 mg/m³ instead of 0.5 mg/m³.

2. Sampling

   A known quantity of air is passed through a glass-fibre filter. Volume, flow rate and sampler NOT GIVEN; establish beforehand that there is no metalworking fluid at the workplace.

3. Desorption

   The oil is desorbed from the filter with cyclohexane.

4. Measurement

   The oil is determined in the solution by ultraviolet absorption spectrometry. Conditions NOT GIVEN.

5. Result and assessment

   The concentration in mg/m³ is compared with NDS 5 mg/m³ (inhalable fraction). A result below 0.5 mg/m³ lies below the method limit of amendment Az1.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Cyclohexane is highly flammable — solutions are prepared away from ignition sources; its safety data sheet applies
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the NDS of 5 mg/m³ does not apply to metalworking fluids or to oils used in engines — the card does not say that the measurement settles which oil is at the workplace; this is established before measuring
• TECHNICAL NOTE: citing the standard without amendment Az1:2009 points to the edition with a quantification limit of 1.0 mg/m³

Frequently asked questions