Charcoal sampling and gas chromatographic determination of N,N-dimethylformamide in air samples from a polyurethane plant.

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Abstract
A charcoal sampling method and a gas chromatographic [GC] determination of N,N-dimethylformamide in the air of a plant producing polyurethane lumps was described. The collection efficiency was checked by drawing standard N,N-dimethylformamide air mixtures through the sampling tube at 0.1 l/min and detecting the organic vapors spectrophotometrically at 215.4 nm. At 1000 mg/m3, samplings could be carried out for 190 min with negligible N,N-dimethylformamide losses (< 1%). The analysis of N,N-dimethylformamide was performed by GC on Porapack Q and Tenax GC after extraction with 2 ml acetone/100 mg charcoal, with a mean recovery of 90% (SD 2), in the range of 0.05-0.5 mg N,N-dimethylformamide/100 mg charcoal. The relative SD of the entire procedure was 3.5%. Because of the good adsorbing efficiency of the charcoal, short-term sampling could be carried out at a relatively high N,N-dimethylformamide concentration. Stationary and personal sampling resulted in mean values ranging between 1.26-1.60 mg/m3. The method was suitable in instances where other pollutants were present and could be used for other work areas.

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