Feasibility Study of the Field Application of Headspace-Single Drop Microextraction in Formaldehyde Sampling of Workplace Air

Formaldehyde is considered as one of the most important air pollutants due to both its high toxicity, and the vast application in industries and medical centers. Many concerns have emerged, therefore, on the sensitivity and the accuracy of analysis methods for this compound. This study was carried out to evaluate the feasibility of the field application of headspace single-drop microextraction (HS-SDME) in preparation of formaldehyde-contained samples for gas chromatography analysis.
In this experimental and cross sectional study, air samples were collected from a rock wool manufacturing company using National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 3500 method. The samples were analyzed once using the standard method of NIOSH 3500 and the other time using HS-SDME and gas chromatography. Finally, the values of formaldehyde concentration calculated in the two methods were compared.
Findings: Paired t-test indicated that formaldehyde average concentration in HS-SDME (1.27 µg/ml) was significantly lower than that in NIOSH method (2.31 µg/ml) (P According to the results, HS-SDME method is possible to be efficiently applicable in the extraction of formaldehyde samples with low concentrations. However, it would not be accurately feasible in moderate and high concentrations.