Occupational exposure to VOC's

How are VOCs measured in workplace air?
 

VOCs are volatile at room temperature, so they can be captured by a passive sensor including activated carbon.

In the laboratory, the activated carbon is extracted with an organic solvent and the extract is analysed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

 
What are the occupational environments where VOCs are most commonly found?

•     Chemical and pharmaceutical industries
•     Anatomopathology and forensic medicine laboratories
•     Taxidermy laboratory
•     Medical laboratory
•     Biology laboratory
•     Chemical laboratory
•     Manufacturing process, storage, handling of chipboard
•     Painting
•     Carpentry and chipboard work
•     Hygiene
•     Cleaning
•     Manufacturing process, storage and use of resins and adhesives
•     Printing
•     Activities involving the use of biocide

What does the VOC Occupational Exposure Test Kit include?

The test kit includes

•     Detailed step-by-step instructions for air sampling
•     A sampling sheet with information on how to interpret the results
•     A passive air sampler validated for measuring VOC exposure
•     An envelope for the prepaid return of your sample to the laboratory
•     Analysis of the selected VOCs in a certified laboratory
•     An analysis report with interpreted results
   

How to use the VOC Occupational Exposure Test Kit?

The analysis kit is very simple to use and does not require any technical expertise.

After transferring the activated carbon into the passive sensor, it is exposed to ambient air for 8 consecutive hours.

It can be used in two ways:

•     To carry out a measurement in the ambient air in a workplace. The sensor is placed in the middle of the workspace at a height appropriate to the workstation.
•     To perform an individual measurement on an operator. The sensor is placed on the collar of the employee's work clothes, close to the respiratory tract

Once the sample has been taken, the carbon is transferred to the glass bottle provided.

The passive sensor, the bottle with the activated charcoal and the sampling form are returned to the laboratory with the pre-paid return envelope.

The VOC workplace air analysis kit has no legal value.
The results are indicative and allow action to be taken to reduce occupational exposure to volatile chemical agents

This analysis kit measures the concentration level of VOCs in the air in workplaces. It allows the result of the laboratory measurement to be compared with the Occupational Exposure Limit values (OELs).

Air inhaled during work activities may include carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or reprotoxic (CMR) substances and present health risks to employees.

The monitoring of CMR exposure is a regulatory obligation for employers and must be carried out every year.

The VOCs measured in this analysis kit are anyone classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or reprotoxic (CMR).

Which VOCs are measured?

Depending on the option selected, the analysis covers a defined number of VOCs.
They are chosen from the list of substances analysed in the laboratory.
The occupational exposure limit values (OELs) vary according to the country and are presented here for France.