Application of solid-phase microextraction to monitoring indoor air quality

Practical application of Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPR IE) for the asses sment of the quality of indoor air is presented. SPME was used to sample se lected organic pollutants (carbon tetrachloride, benzene, toluene, chlorobe nzene, p-xylene and n-decane). An SPME fiber was coated with a 100 mu m fil m of polydimethylsiloxane. The analytes extracted were analysed with a gas chromatograph directly coupled with a mass spectrometer (GCMS). The method was used to assess the indoor air quality in a few selected flats. The conc entrations ranged from below detection limits to 6.9 mg/m(3) for benzene de pending on the flat; they were relatively high for newly built or freshly r enovated flats.