Development of active and diffusive sampling methods for determination of 3-methoxybutyl acetate in workplace air

Abstract

Monitoring of the workplace concentration of 3-methoxybutyl acetate (MBA), which is used in printer's ink and thinner for screen-printing and as an organic solvent to dissolve various resins, is important for health reasons. An active and a diffusive sampling method, using a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector, were developed for the determination of MBA in workplace air. For the active sampling method using an activated charcoal tube, the overall desorption efficiency was 101%, the overall recovery was 104%, and the recovery after 8 days of storage in a refrigerator was more than 90%. For the diffusive sampling method using the 3M 3500 organic vapor monitor, the MBA sampling rate was 19.89 cm³ min⁻¹. The linear range was from 0.01 to 96.00 μg ml⁻¹, with a correlation coefficient of 0.999, and the detection limits of the active and diffusive samplers were 0.04 and 0.07 μg sample⁻¹, respectively. The geometric mean of stationary sampling and personal sampling in a screen-printing factory were 12.61 and 16.52 ppm, respectively, indicating that both methods can be used to measure MBA in workplace air.