Monitoring volatile organic compounds in air—the development of ISO standards and a critical appraisal of the methods

Abstract

This article describes four primary ISO standards for the determination of volatile organic compounds in ambient, indoor and/or workplace air and one derivative standard for the measurement of emissions from building materials that is also appropriate for indoor air quality determinations. The theoretical bases and historical development of the standards is described, and there is a critical evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of each method. The methods are similar in their associated measurement uncertainties, and so may be regarded as equivalent. However, they have different (but overlapping) application areas, partly linked to the concentration ranges for which they are appropriate. They also require a different range of sampling and analytical equipment (except for the gas chromatograph). The methods requiring more expensive equipment are generally less labour intensive, so a choice of method may be determined by the throughput of samples.