Iran Occupational Health

Abstract

Background and aims: The chlorobenzene is an intermediate chemical that is used in the production of commodities such as herbicides, dyestuffs, and rubber and Causes neurological complications and effects on the respiratory tract. In this research solid phase micro extraction (SPME) was used for the sampling of chlorobenzene in air. The optimum conditions for analysis with gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were determined

Methods: The sampling of chlorobenzene was done in a dynamic atmosphere generation system with SPME. The kind of fiber was selected and the optimum temperature and desorption time in injection port of GC were determined and results of measurement were compared with the NIOSH-1003 method. Samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry.

Results: Carboxen-Polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) in retracted mode has high absorption compared to other fibers and was selected for sampling. Desorption temperature in the injector of GC were also optimized in three levels from 200 to 280 and results showed no significant difference were observed for extraction of analyte from SPME (P>0.05).The equilibrium time at exposed condition in SPME was 30 minute but equilibrium time is extended for several hours in retracted mode. There were no significant differences between sampling rates at different temperatures and air velocities (P>0.05) but, the increase of relative humidity (RH) had a negative effect on sampling rates (P<0.05).

Conclusion:  It is concluded that SPME in retracted mode is an alternative method for determination of chlorobenzene in air and could be applied as a passive method for the determination of the time weight average (TWA) of chlorobenzene in workplaces.