Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs)

With Air by CCSquared, you can measure VOCs using both standard GC-MS (liquid injection) and thermal desorption (TD) methods. We find that the TD method with the adsorbent Tenax-TA is exceptionally good for measuring higher boiling organic solvents and semi-volatiles (like chlorinated pesticides). Tenax-TA is hydrophobic, so water adsorption during sampling is less of an issue and samplers can be exposed for weeks, up to a month. We offer exploratory products that use either Texax-TA or Anasorb 747 in a diffusive sampler. The Tenax TA sampler is best used to collect samples with boiling points higher than 85oC. We can also run multi-bed tubes as recommended by EPA-TO-17 that contain multiple media separated by glass wool (multi-bed tubes). This allows chemicals with a broader range of boiling points to be measured simultaneously and is recommended for professional use.

Diacetyl, 2,3-Pentanedione and Related Diones

Diacetyl, the popular butter flavoring used in the food and beverage industry has been found to cause the devastating lung disease Bronchiolitis Obliterans (popcorn lung), a form of obstructive lung disease that results in the loss of lung capacity. Our offering was motivated by a recent NISOH report that describes the studies that lead to new lower RELs: 5 ppb for diacetyl for an 8 h workday and 25 ppb for 15 min.

Diacetyl is only one of a series of 1,2-dione containing substances that are used as food flavorings, mixtures of which give foods characteristic smells.  For example, 2,3-pentanedione is found in alarming concentrations during the grinding of roasted coffee beans, and should likely be controlled in coffee roasteries and coffee shops.  It’s interesting that these substances smell like butter alone, but when mixed in different proportions can take on entirely different smells.  For example, we have generated the smell of yogurt here in the lab, which is a mixture of diacetyl, acetoin, and 3,4-hexanedione.

Ethylene Oxide (ETO)

Ethylene oxide (ETO) is a powerful sterilizing agent that poses significant health risks when not properly controlled. Exposure to ETO can lead to serious health issues, including respiratory problems, headaches, and even long-term effects like cancer or reproductive damage. This makes it crucial for workplaces to regularly monitor ETO levels to protect employees and ensure compliance with safety regulations. By measuring ethylene oxide, businesses can safeguard their workers' health, reduce liability, and maintain a more compliant work environment. Keep in mind that ETO has a very high odor threshold (>200 PPM) 100’s of times higher than the safe limit, making measurement of ETO essential for all medial facilities.

Aldehydes

At Air by CCSquared, we use the NIOSH 2018 method to measure aldehydes with both diffusive samplers and sampling tubes. This method provides the most accurate aldehyde measurements available today, with a few important considerations.

All samplers if this type are sensitive to heat, and exposure can cause media decomposition, leading to background signals that may produce false positives. To ensure accuracy, we strongly recommend storing and shipping samplers refrigerated. Avoid leaving them in hot environments, such as parked cars in the summer. We are actively working on solutions to minimize decomposition-related background signals and will provide updates as we make progress. For now we use the SKC UMEX 100 sampler that includes an extra media chamber so this decomposition can be detected and measured.

Organic Acids and Nitrogen Dioxide

Here's something new from the laboratory of Irena Kralj Cigić at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. These investigators have found a way to measure formic and acetic acids by capturing with triethanolamine in a diffusive monitor (SKC UMEX-200, see the publication here). We run this method exactly as described in this paper.