2‐Phenoxyethanol – Method for the determination of 2‐phenoxyethanol in workplace air using gas chromatography after thermal desorption
Air Monitoring Method – Translation of the German version from 2018
Michael Tschickardt1 (Method development)Wilhelm Krämer2 (External verification)
Ralf Schmitt2 (External verification)
Ralph Hebisch3 (Head of the working group “Air Analyses” of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
Thomas Helmut Brock4 (Head of the working group “Analytics” )
Andrea Hartwig5 (Chair of the Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
MAK Commission6
1 State Environmental Agency Rhineland‐Palatinate, Kaiser‐Friedrich‐Straße 7, 55118 Mainz, Germany
2 BASF SE, ESE/MA – Z 570, Carl-Bosch-Straße 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
3 Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Friedrich-Henkel-Weg 1–25, 44149 Dortmund, Germany
4 German Social Accident Insurance, Institution for the raw materials and chemical industry, Prevention - Department of Hazardous Substances, Biological Agents and Analytical Chemistry, Kurfürsten-Anlage 62, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
5 Institute of Applied Biosciences, Department of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Adenauerring 20a, Building 50.41, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
6 Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Kennedyallee 40, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Abstract
This analytical method is a validated measurement procedure for the determination of 2‐phenoxyethanol [122‐99‐6] in workplace air in a concentration range of one tenth up to twice the currently valid MAK value of 5,7 mg/m3. With this method simultaneously airborne 2‐phenoxyethanol in the gaseous state as well as particles are collected. Sampling is performed by drawing a defined volume of air through a quartz fibre filter located in the sampling head with an adsorption tube filled with Tenax TA connected downstream using a suitable pump. The flow rate is set to 0.066 L/min with a recommended air sample volume of approx. 4 litres. The collected 2‐phenoxyethanol alcohol is thermally desorbed and then analysed by means of gas chromatography using two detectors, a FID for quantification and a MSD to recognise potential interferences. The quantitative determination is based on a calibration function obtained by means of a multi‐point calibration. The limit of quantification is 0,095 mg/m3 based on an air sample of approx. 4 litres.
