Determination Method for Nitromethane in Workplace Air

• Published in: Journal of Occupational Health Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 194 - 197
• Main Authors: Takeuchi, Akito, Nishimura, Yasuki, Kaifuku, Yuichiro, Imanaka, Tsutoshi, Natsumeda, Shuichiro, Ota, Hirokazu, Yamada, Shu, Kurotani, Ichiro, Sumino, Kimiaki, Kanno, Seiichiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Australia JAPAN SOCIETY FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH 01.05.2010; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Air Pollution, Indoor - analysis; Air sampling method; Chromatography, Gas; Gas chromatography; Methane - analogs & derivatives; Methane - analysis; Nitromethane; Nitroparaffins - analysis; Occupational Exposure - analysis; Occupational health; Reproducibility; Risk Assessment; Workplace - standards; Workplace air
• ISSN: 1341-9145; 1348-9585; 1348-9585
• DOI: 10.1539/joh.M9014

Determination Method for Nitromethane in Workplace Air:Akito TAKEUCHI, et al. Osaka Occupational Health Service Center, Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association- Objectives:The purpose of this research was to develop a determination method for nitromethane (NM) in workplace air for risk assessment. Methods:A suitable sampler and appropriate desorption condition were selected by a recovery test in which a spiked sampler was used. The characteristics of the proposed method, such as recovery, detection limit, and reproducibility, and the storage stability of the sample were examined. Results:A sampling tube containing bead-shaped activated carbon was chosen as the sampler. NM in the sampler was desorbed with acetone and analyzed by a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector. The recoveries of NM from the spiked sampler were 81-97% and 80-98% for personal exposure monitoring and working environment measurement, respectively. On the first day of storage in a refrigerator, the recovery from the spiked samplers exceeded 90%;however, it decreased dramatically with increasing storage time. In particular, the decrease was more remarkable for the smaller spiked amounts. The overall LOQ was 2 μg/sample. The relative standard deviation, which represents the overall reproducibility, was 1.1-4.0%. Conclusions:The proposed method enables 4-hour personal exposure monitoring of NM at concentrations equaling 0.001-2 times the threshold limit value-time-weighted average (TLV-TWA:20ppm) proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, as well as 10-minute working environment measurement at concentrations equaling 0.02-2 times TLV-TWA. Thus, the proposed method will be useful for estimating worker exposure to NM. (J Occup Health 2010;52:194-197)