A thermal desorption gas chromatographic method for sampling and analysis of airborne vinyl chloride

Volatile organic compounds are monitored by sampling of air to adsorbents. The adsorbed compounds are then extracted using solvents. Some solvents are flammable and/or toxic. In addition, some solvents may contain contaminants which will interfere with analysis. Furthermore, the sensitivity of analysis could be lowered by a factor of thousand because the analysis uses only a small aliquot of extracted solution. Thermal desorption method is free from these pitfalls. Thermal desorption gas chromatographic method is applied to the sampling and analysis of vinyl chloride in workplace air. The method is safe, fast, convenient and reliable.