Abstract
The NIOSH charcoal tube technique was evaluated and found suitable, under certain conditions, for the simultaneous, quantitative determination of eight materials, namely dichloromethane, acetone, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, benzene, hexane, toluene, xylene and Stoddard solvent, at and below their respective 8-hr TLV®-TWA. Analytical precision, desorption efficiencies, detection limits, linearity of concentration-detector response plots, and alternate desorbing solvents were investigated. Effects of air sample volume, temperature and relative humidity, materials loading, methanol, liquefied petroleum gas, and storage of exposed charcoal tubes on material recoveries were also determined.