ASTM D6196-23

5.1?This practice is recommended for use in measuring the concentration of VOCs in ambient, indoor, and workplace atmospheres. It may also be used for measuring emissions from materials in small or full scale environmental chambers for material emission testing or human exposure assessment.

5.2?Such measurements in ambient air are of importance because of the known role of VOCs as ozone precursors, and in some cases (for example, benzene), as toxic pollutants in their own right.

5.3?Such measurements in indoor air are of importance because of the association of VOCs with air quality problems in indoor environments, particularly in relation to sick building syndrome and emissions from building materials. Many volatile organic compounds have the potential to contribute to air quality problems in indoor environments and in some cases toxic VOCs may be present at such elevated concentrations in home or workplace atmospheres as to prompt serious concerns over human exposure and adverse health effects 5.4?Such measurements in workplace air are of importance because of the known toxic effects of many such compounds.

1.1?This practice is intended to assist in the selection of sorbents and procedures for the sampling and analysis of ambient (1),2 indoor 1.2?This practice is based on the sorption of VOCs from air onto selected sorbents or combinations of sorbents. Sampled air is either drawn through a tube containing one or a series of sorbents (pumped sampling) or allowed to diffuse, under controlled conditions, onto the sorbent surface at the sampling end of the tube (diffusive or passive sampling). The sorbed VOCs are subsequently recovered by thermal desorption and analyzed by capillary gas chromatography.

1.3?This practice applies to three basic types of samplers that are compatible with thermal desorption: (1) pumped sorbent tubes containing one or more sorbents; (1.4?This practice recommends a number of sorbents that can be packed in sorbent tubes for use in the sampling of vapor-phase organic chemicals; including volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds which, generally speaking, boil in the range 0 ?C to 400 ?C (v.p. 15 kPa to 0.01 kPa at 25 ?C).

1.5?This practice can be used for the measurement of airborne vapors of these organic compounds over a wide concentration range.

1.6?This procedure can be used for personal and fixed location sampling. It cannot be used to measure instantaneous or short-term fluctuations in concentration. Alternative grab sampling procedures using canister air samplers (for example, Test Method D5466) may be suitable for monitoring instantaneous or short term fluctuations in air concentration. Alternatives for on-site measurement include, but are not limited to, gas chromatography, real-time mass spectrometry detectors and infrared spectrometry.

1.7?The sampling method gives a time-weighted average result.

1.8?The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

1.9?This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.10?This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.