🌿 Propan-2-ol (isopropyl alcohol) in workplace air — silica gel, distilled water, gas chromatography; limit of quantification according to the standard 240 mg/m³; MAC (NDS) 900 mg/m³, STEL (NDSCh) 1200 mg/m³, "skin"; PN-Z-04224-02:1992 (withdrawn 27-11-2012)

Environment PN-Z-04224-02

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full: "The test method consists in adsorption of isopropyl alcohol vapour on silica gel, extracting it with distilled water and chromatographic analysis of the solution obtained. The limit of quantification of the method is 240 mg in 1 cubic metre of air" (our translation; no full stop at the end on the card). The card does not give the detector, the volume or the flow rate of the air sample. We did not have the text of the standard (3 pages). The CIOP article of 2020 (Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy 2020, No. 1(103), pp. 157–170), described in our entry on PN-Z-04535:2022-01, states its aim as the "amendment of standard PN-Z-04224-02:1992" and describes the old method in the same way as the card (silica gel, water, limit of quantification 240 mg/m³), with flame ionisation detection.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). Item 472: "Propan-2-ol [67-63-0]" — NDS 900 mg/m³, NDSCh 1200 mg/m³, "skin" notation, no note on the fraction; the substance is not covered by the transitional provisions of § 2. The limit of quantification according to the card of this standard, 240 mg/m³, is about 27 % of the NDS; according to the card of PN-Z-04535:2022-01 it is 90 mg/m³, i.e. 10 % of the NDS.

STATUS (cards as of 05.10.2026). The card of PN-Z-04224-02:1992 (Polish version) has the heading "Withdrawn" without naming a replacing standard: publication 01-06-1992, withdrawal date 27-11-2012, 3 pages, price group B, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Working Environment, ICS 13.040.30. The card of PN-Z-04535:2022-01 ("… Determination of propan-2-ol at workplaces by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection") has neither the heading "Withdrawn" nor a "Replaces" field: publication 10-01-2022, 8 pages, limit of quantification 90 mg/m³; it is described in a separate entry of this database. More than 9 years passed between the withdrawal of the old standard and the publication of the new one. PKN search (05.10.2026): under "PN-Z-04224" — 3 parts of the series "Tests for propyl alcohol content": -01:1992 (general provisions) and -02:1992 labelled "Withdrawn", and the current -3:2003 (propan-1-ol); under "propan-2-olu" — PN-Z-04535:2022-01 and two standards on other compounds; under "izopropylowego" — this standard and a withdrawn standard on isopropyl ether.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, data up to 17.09.2026, read on 05.10.2026). Number 04224-02 appears in 9 records at 8 laboratories; in the current PCA documents (read on 03.10.2026; issues from 26.11.2025 to 18.08.2026) — in 9 rows at the same laboratories; a search of all PCA documents downloaded from the BIP found no laboratories outside the database copy; no pages are repeated in any document. Both entries of AB 522 are suspended — bold italics and the footnote "Accreditation suspended at the request of the body in the part of the scope marked in bold italics from 18.08.2026 to 14.02.2027" (our translation; issue No. 26 of 18.08.2026). Notations: "PN-92/Z-04224/02" — AB 581, AB 632, AB 647 and AB 1144; "PN-Z-04224-02:1992" — AB 340 and AB 746; "PN-92-Z-04224/02" — AB 1642; "PN-92/Z-04224.02" — AB 522, alongside procedure PB-17-27 issue 7 of 20.06.2022 (in the second entry "excluding item 5.4"). The "Laboratories" tab searches for records beginning with the term entered: "PN-92/Z-04224/02" shows 4 laboratories, "PN-Z-04224-02" — 2, "PN-92-Z-04224/02" and "PN-92/Z-04224.02" — 1 each, 8 in total — the same in the copy and on the labcoda.pl production server (tab queries on 05.10.2026). None of these 8 laboratories cites PN-Z-04535:2022-01, which is in the scopes of 6 other laboratories.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). Subject: working environment — air; AB 632 and AB 746 — samples collected on sorbent tubes, AB 647 — on activated carbon tubes, AB 1144 and AB 1642 — on a solid sorbent, the second entry of AB 522 — on sorbent tubes. Quantity: concentration (content) of propan-2-ol; AB 746 adds "(isopropyl alcohol)". Ranges in mg/m³: 0.20–7551 (AB 1642), 0.87–1360 (AB 340), 1.33–2693 (AB 522, suspended), 2.75–2250 (AB 581), 4.40–3280 (AB 1144), 31.2–2400 (AB 746), 49–1200 (AB 647), 90–2400 (AB 632); the second entry of AB 522 — 24.0–48474 µg per sample (suspended). Technique: gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) — all laboratories.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — withdrawn standard: this standard has not been valid since 27-11-2012, and the current PN-Z-04535:2022-01 describes a different method; a result according to PN-Z-04224-02:1992 is not a result according to PN-Z-04535:2022-01, and the report should state explicitly that the standard is withdrawn. Second — lower limit: the card gives a limit of quantification of 240 mg/m³, while all eight laboratories start lower (from 0.20 to 90 mg/m³), which requires conditions different from those on the card — the report should name them. Third — sorbent: the card gives silica gel and extraction with water, while AB 647 describes samples collected on activated carbon tubes — with the same standard in the reference field. Fourth — searching: the number of this standard appears in four notations and no single search term shows all 8 laboratories. Fifth — suspension: both entries of AB 522 are suspended until 14 February 2027.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the detector according to the standard, the volume or flow rate of the air sample, the amount of gel, the volume of water, the column, the chromatograph conditions or the calculations. We do not claim that PN-Z-04535:2022-01 replaced this standard — the cards do not say so. We do not give the content of item 5.4 of the standard excluded by AB 522.

Method principle

Isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol) vapour from workplace air is adsorbed on silica gel, extracted with distilled water and the solution obtained is analysed chromatographically (PKN card); limit of quantification according to the card — 240 mg/m³. The result in mg/m³ is compared with the NDS of 900 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 1200 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447). The standard has been withdrawn since 27-11-2012; the current standard for propan-2-ol is PN-Z-04535:2022-01.

Applications

• Workplace air — propan-2-ol — in the current scopes of 8 laboratories despite the withdrawal of the standard (the current PN-Z-04535:2022-01 — at 6 others)
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 900 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 1200 mg/m³, with the "skin" notation (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, item 472 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04224-02:1992

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości alkoholu propylowego — Oznaczanie alkoholu izopropylowego na stanowiskach pracy metodą chromatografii gazowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for propyl alcohol content — Determination of isopropyl alcohol at workplaces by gas chromatography

Step-by-step procedure

1. Sampling

   Adsorption of isopropyl alcohol vapour on silica gel (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume and flow rate.

2. Extraction

   Extraction with distilled water (PKN card); WE DO NOT GIVE the volume and time.

3. Analysis

   Chromatographic analysis of the solution obtained (PKN card); in the scopes — GC-FID; WE DO NOT GIVE the conditions.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration of propan-2-ol in mg/m³; comparison with the NDS of 900 mg/m³ and the NDSCh of 1200 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447).

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Propan-2-ol — safety rules of the chemical laboratory
• TECHNICAL NOTE: standard withdrawn since 27-11-2012 — the current standard for propan-2-ol is PN-Z-04535:2022-01; the limit of quantification on the card (240 mg/m³) is higher than the lower limits of all eight laboratories

Frequently asked questions