🌿 Silver and its insoluble compounds in workplace air (inhalable fraction, as Ag) — flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), lowest determinable concentration 0.003 mg/m³, NDS 0.05 mg/m³, PN-Z-04216-2

Environment PN-Z-04216-2

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card, in full (our translation): "This standard gives a method for determining the content of silver (CAS No. 7440-22-4) and its compounds in workplace air using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The method is used in the control of sanitary and hygienic conditions. The lowest concentration of silver that can be determined under the conditions of air sampling and determination described in the standard is 0.003 mg/m3" (on the card without a full stop at the end). The title narrows the scope to silver and its INSOLUBLE compounds. We did not have the text of the standard (7 pages). The CIOP article "Silver — soluble compounds. Method of determination in workplace air" (J. Surgiewicz, Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy 2018, No. 4(98), pp. 167–177) recalls the history: silver and its compounds were determined according to PN-Z-04216-02:1991 (FAAS), which was replaced by PN-Z-04216-2:2012 for silver and insoluble compounds — "the revised standard, however, does not describe the method of determining soluble silver compounds"; the article describes a separate method for soluble compounds.

NDS VALUES (list in the annex to the regulation of 26 March 2026, Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, NDS column in mg/m³). Item 495: "Silver compounds, insoluble — as Ag" — 0.05; item 496: "Silver compounds, soluble — as Ag" — 0.01; item 497: "Silver [7440-22-4] — inhalable fraction" — 0.05; no NDSCh values. The lowest concentration determinable according to the standard, 0.003 mg/m³, is 6 % of the NDS for silver and insoluble compounds.

STATUS (state of the cards on 30 September 2026). The card of PN-Z-04216-2:2012 (Polish version) has no "Withdrawn" header — the standard is CURRENT: published 12-10-2012, 7 pages, price group D, Health, Environment and Medicine Sector, KT 159 for Chemical and Dust Hazards in the Work Environment, ICS 13.040.30, "Replaces: PN-Z-04216-02:1991 - Polish version"; a national standard, without an "Introduces" field. The PKN search for "PN-Z-04216" (30 September 2026): this standard, PN-Z-04216-02:1991 with the label "Withdrawn and replaced by PN-Z-04216-2:2012" and PN-Z-04216-01:1991 "General provisions and scope of the standard" with the label "Withdrawn" — its card: 1 page, withdrawn on 29-11-2007, scope: general guidelines on the quality of reagents and the subject and scope of the individual sheets. There is no Part 1 in the present arrangement of the series.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation-scope database, data loaded up to 17 September 2026, read on 30 September 2026). All notations of number 04216-2: 11 records at 10 laboratories; in the current PCA documents the number stands in 10 cells (the copy splits the AB 886 entry into two records). All laboratories write "PN-Z-04216-2:2012"; AB 719 cites "PN-Z-04216-2:2012 pkt 6" (clause 6) next to its own procedure PA-29, AB 562 — next to procedure PB_06, and AB 875 — next to the method from "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" 1998, No. 19, pp. 165–169. The "Laboratories" tab looks for notations that BEGIN with "PN-Z-04216-2" and will show all 10 laboratories — checked with the tab's query on the production server labcoda.pl on 30 September 2026: 10. Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 30 September 2026, issues from 24.11.2025 to 23.07.2026): all entries are in the issues in force and none is suspended.

QUANTITIES, RANGES AND TECHNIQUE. Item: working environment — air, air samples collected on filters. Quantity: concentration (content) of silver in the inhalable fraction and of insoluble compounds as Ag; AB 875 in the same entry also soluble compounds. Ranges in mg/m³: from 0.001 to 0.07 (AB 481), from 0.001 to 0.3 (AB 875), from 0.002 to 1.000 (AB 562), from 0.0028 to 0.11 (AB 882), from 0.003 to 0.1 (AB 647), to 0.13 (AB 849), to 0.72 (AB 886), from 0.0035 to 0.17 (AB 581), from 0.004 to 0.1 (AB 632); AB 719 — from 0.0010 mg to 1.00 mg per sample. Technique: flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) — 9 laboratories; AB 719 — inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. Soluble silver compounds have their own standard — PN-Z-04503:2019-10 "Air purity protection — Determination of soluble silver compounds at workplaces by flame atomic absorption spectrometry" (PKN card: current, published 07-10-2019; lowest determinable concentration 0.001 mg/m³ for 720 l of air; state of the card on 30 September 2026); it is cited by AB 632 and AB 719, both next to in-house procedures (at AB 719 clause 7), while AB 647 (separate entry, from 0.0010 mg/m³ to 0.12 mg/m³) and AB 875 (in the same entry as this standard) use the method from "Podstawy i Metody Oceny Środowiska Pracy" 1998, No. 19. Silver in workplace air is determined without this standard by, among others: AB 802 and AB 1302 (ICP-OES, own procedures), AB 869 (OSHA method ID-125G, and in a multi-element entry ISO 30011), AB 300 (ISO 15202-3), AB 313 (ISO 15202-2 and ISO 30011), AB 213 (own ICP-OES procedure) and AB 934 (own procedures).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — soluble or insoluble: the standard concerns silver and insoluble compounds (NDS 0.05 mg/m³); soluble compounds have an NDS five times lower, 0.01 mg/m³, and their own standard PN-Z-04503:2019-10 — a result according to this standard is not an assessment of exposure to soluble compounds. Second — limit of quantification: according to the card the lowest concentration determinable under the conditions of the standard is 0.003 mg/m³; four laboratories give a lower limit (AB 481 — 0.001 mg/m³; AB 875 — 0.001 mg/m³ in an entry that also covers soluble compounds by another method; AB 562 — 0.002 mg/m³, next to its own procedure; AB 882 — 0.0028 mg/m³), which requires sampling or determination conditions other than those described in the standard — the report should state them. Third — fraction: the NDS for silver refers to the inhalable fraction — the sampler has to collect it. Fourth — technique: AB 719 determines silver by ICP-OES and cites only clause 6 of the standard; the result is then not a result of the FAAS method described in the standard. Fifth — conversion: the result is given as Ag.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — we do not give the method and volume of air sampling, the type of filter, sample mineralisation, the wavelength, measurement conditions, standards, calculations or the content of clause 6 cited by AB 719. The method for soluble compounds from the CIOP article is described only as a separate one.

Method principle

Silver and its insoluble compounds from workplace air are retained on a filter, the sample is brought into solution and silver is determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry; the result is converted to the concentration of silver (Ag) in air in mg/m³ and compared with the NDS of 0.05 mg/m³. Lowest concentration determinable under the conditions of the standard — 0.003 mg/m³. Details of sampling, mineralisation and measurement are NOT GIVEN — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Workplace air — silver (inhalable fraction) and its insoluble compounds as Ag — in the scopes of 10 laboratories
• Assessment of occupational exposure against the NDS of 0.05 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447, items 495 and 497 of the list)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-04216-2:2012 (wersja polska)

Title (PL)

Ochrona czystości powietrza — Badania zawartości srebra i jego związków — Część 2: Oznaczanie srebra i jego związków nierozpuszczalnych na stanowiskach pracy metodą płomieniową absorpcyjnej spektrometrii atomowej

Title (EN)

Air purity protection — Tests for silver and its compounds — Part 2: Determination of silver and its insoluble compounds at workplaces by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

Step-by-step procedure

1. Status and scope

   PN-Z-04216-2:2012 current (state of the card on 30 September 2026); only silver and insoluble compounds — soluble compounds by a separate method.

2. Sampling

   Inhalable fraction on a filter under the conditions of the standard (they give the lowest determinable concentration of 0.003 mg/m³); details NOT GIVEN.

3. Preparation and measurement

   Bringing the sample into solution and determining silver by FAAS; conditions NOT GIVEN.

4. Result and assessment

   Concentration in mg/m³ as Ag; comparison with the NDS of 0.05 mg/m³ (Journal of Laws 2026 item 447).

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Work with acids during sample mineralisation and with the acetylene–air flame of the spectrometer — safety rules of a chemical laboratory
• SUBSTANTIVE NOTE: the standard does not cover soluble silver compounds (NDS 0.01 mg/m³); a lower limit below 0.003 mg/m³ requires conditions other than those in the standard

Frequently asked questions