ASTM D4861-11

This practice is recommended for use primarily for non-occupational exposure monitoring in domiciles, public access buildings, and offices.

The methods described in this practice have been successfully applied to measurement of pesticides and PCBs in outdoor air and for personal respiratory exposure monitoring.

A broad spectrum of pesticides are commonly used in and around the house and for insect control in public and commercial buildings. Other semivolatile organic chemicals, such as PCBs, are also often present in indoor air, particularly in large office buildings. This practice promotes needed precision and bias in the determination of many of these airborne chemicals.

1.1 This practice covers the sampling of air for a variety of common pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and provides guidance on the selection of appropriate analytical measurement methods. Other compounds such as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/furans, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated naphthalenes may be efficiently collected from air by this practice, but guidance on their analytical determination is not covered by this practice.

1.2 A complete listing of pesticides and other semivolatile organic chemicals for which this practice has been tested is shown in .

1.3 This practice is based on the collection of chemicals from air onto polyurethane foam (PUF) or a combination of PUF and granular sorbent.

1.4 This practice is applicable to multicomponent atmospheres, 0.001 to 50-g/m³ concentrations, and 4 to 24-h sampling periods. The limit of detection will depend on the nature of the analyte and the length of the sampling period.

1.5 The analytical method(s) recommended will depend on the specific chemical(s) sought, the concentration level, and the degree of specificity required.

This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific hazards statements, see and .