Collection and Determination of 1,3-Butadiene Using Passive Dosimeters and Automatic Thermal Desorption

Abstract

A new passive dosimeter for sampling ambient levels of 1,3-butadiene was constructed using automatic thermal desorption tubes packed with charcoal sorbent wafers. The exposed tubes were thermally desorbed and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC), and the effects of concentration, back diffusion, and sample storage time were studied. The method validation tests were conducted according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) protocol, and the results indicated that the new method meets the NIOSH validation standard and can be used for occupational exposure monitoring of 1,3-butadiene. The method was also compared with the standard NIOSH Method 1024 for butadiene sampling and analysis that uses a charcoal absorption tube followed by the solvent extraction and GC analysis. The new method showed a comparable linear response with the NIOSH method over the butadiene concentration range tested (0.01 4.0 ppmv). The values for the limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 0.005 and 0.017 ppmv, respectively, while the values estimated for the NIOSH method were 0.02 and 0.10 ppmv. Finally, a validation test of the new passive sampler has been conducted to determine workplace butadiene concentration in an industrial environment. Using the NIOSH statistical protocol it was found that the results obtained with the new device were not statistically different from those using the current device.