A field-portable colorimetric method for the measurement of peracetic acid vapors: a comparison of glass and plastic impingers

A method for measuring peracetic acid vapors in air using impinger sampling and field-portable colorimetric analysis is presented. The capture efficiency of aqueous media in glass and plastic impingers was evaluated when used for peracetic acid vapor sampling. Measurement of peracetic acid was done using an N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine colorimetric method with a field-portable spectrometer. The linearity of the N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine method was determined for peracetic acid both in solution and captured from vapor phase using glass or plastic impingers. The Limits of Detection for the glass and plastic impingers were 0.24 mg/m(3) and 0.28 mg/m(3), respectively, for a 15 L air sample. The Limits of Quantitation were 0.79 mg/m(3) and 0.92 mg/m(3) for the glass and plastic impingers, respectively. Both metrics were below the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Threshold Limit Value Short-Term Exposure Limit of 1.24 mg/m(3) (0.4 ppmv) during a 15-min period. The impinger sampling method presented herein allows for an easy-to-use and rapid in-field measurement that can be used for evaluating occupational exposure to peracetic acid.

Automated summary

A method for measuring peracetic acid vapors in air using impinger sampling and field-portable colorimetric analysis is presented. The method measures the capture efficiency of aqueous media in glass and plastic impingers, and uses an N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine colorimetric method with a field-portable spectrometer for measuring peracetic acid. The method allows for easy and rapid in-field measurement and is suitable for evaluating occupational exposure to peracetic acid.