THE MEASUREMENT OF AIRBORNE GLUTARALDEHYDE BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A published method for measuring personal exposure to glutaraldehyde h as been evaluated. A change to the composition of the eluent used in t he high-performance liquid chromatography analysis is suggested along with a more robust calibration procedure. Test atmospheres of glutaral dehyde were used to show that sampling efficiency is unaffected by hum idity changes in the range 20-70% using sampling flow rates of up to 5 00 ml min(-1). Samples can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 w eeks after collection. The method has a detection limit of about 3 ppb for a 21, sample equivalent to about 1/65th of the current occupation al exposure limit for glutaraldehyde.