TY - JOUR A1 - Liaskos, C. A1 - Rhoderick, G. A1 - Hodges, J. A1 - Possolo, A. A1 - Wilke, Olaf T1 - Pilot comparison CCQM-P177 - monoterpenes in nitrogen at 2.5 nmol/mol - final report N2 - Growing awareness of the impact of monoterpenes on climate, atmospheric chemistry, and indoor air quality has necessitated the development of measurement standards to globally monitor and control their emissions. For National Metrology Institutes to develop such standards, it is essential that they demonstrate measurement equivalence for assigned values at the highest levels of accuracy. This report describes the results of a pilot comparison for 4 key monoterpene species: α-pinene, 3-carene, R-limonene and 1,8-cineole, at a nominal amount-of-substance fraction of 2.5 nmol mol-1. The objective of this comparison is to evaluate participant capabilities to measure trace-level monoterpenes using their own calibration techniques. KW - Pilot comparison KW - CCQM KW - Monoterpene KW - Accuracy PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/57/1A/08018 SN - 0026-1394 SN - 1681-7575 VL - 57 IS - 1A SP - 08018-1 EP - 08018-21 PB - IOP Science AN - OPUS4-51111 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bucar, K. A1 - Malet, J. A1 - Stabile, L. A1 - Pražnikar, J. A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Žitnik, M. T1 - Statistics of a Sharp GP2Y Low-Cost Aerosol PM Sensor Output Signals N2 - In this work, we characterise the performance of a Sharp optical aerosol sensor model GP2Y1010AU0F. The sensor was exposed to different environments: to a clean room, to a controlled atmosphere with known aerosol size distribution and to the ambient atmosphere on a busy city street. During the exposure, the output waveforms of the sensor pulses were digitised, saved and a following offline analysis enabled us to study the behaviour of the sensor pulse-by-pulse. A linear response of the sensor on number concentration of the monosized dispersed PSL particles was shown together with an almost linear dependence on particle diameters in the 0.4 to 4 micrometer range. The gathered data about the sensor were used to predict its response to an ambient atmosphere, which was observed simultaneously with a calibrated optical particle counter. KW - Aerosol KW - Partikel KW - Aerosolsensor KW - Luftgüte KW - Umweltmessung PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517466 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s20236707 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 20 IS - 23 SP - 6707 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-51746 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kayser, Y. A1 - Gross, A. A1 - Hönicke, P. A1 - Osan, J. A1 - Pollakowski-Herrmann, B. A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Beckhoff, B. T1 - Reliable chemical analysis of aerosols by reference-free X-ray spectrometry for monitoring airborne particulate matter N2 - The physical and chemical analysis of aerosols using reliable and physically traceable methods is important for the thorough investigation of airborne particles to support a better understanding of their origin as well as their health and climate impacts. Within the European Metrology Research AeroMet project,the aim of hysikalisch–Technische Bundesanstalt’s (PTB) X-ray spectrometry group is to develop and establish traceable and reliable X-ray methods to measure the elemental mass deposition per unit area, the elemental composition,and the chemical binding state of particulate matter supported by a flat substrate. This approach can substantially contribute to support quantitative analytical methods during on-site measurement campaigns where portable Instrumentation is employed by qualifying suitable calibration samples for commercial analytical X-ray instruments and by investigating samples collected during the field campaign. KW - AEROMET project KW - X-Ray analysis KW - TXRF KW - Aerosols KW - Particles KW - Air pollution KW - Elemental composition PY - 2020 UR - https://www.spectroscopyonline.com/view/reliable-chemical-analysis-of-aerosols-by-reference-free-x-ray-spectrometry-for-monitoring-airborne-particulate-matter SN - 0887-6703 VL - 35 IS - 10 SP - 42 EP - 46 PB - MJH Life Sciences CY - Cranbury, NJ AN - OPUS4-53357 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Even, Morgane A1 - Wilke, Olaf A1 - Kalus, Sabine A1 - Schultes, P. A1 - Hutzler, C. A1 - Luch, A. T1 - Formaldehyde emissions from wooden toys: Comparison of different measurement methods and assessment of exposure N2 - Formaldehyde is considered as carcinogenic and is emitted from particleboards and plywood used in toy manufacturing. Currently, the flask method is frequently used in Europe for market surveillance purposes to assess formaldehyde release from toys, but its concordance to Levels measured in emission test chambers is poor. Surveillance laboratories are unable to afford laborious and expensive emission chamber testing to comply with a new amendment of the European Toy Directive; they need an alternative method that can provide reliable results. Therefore, the application of miniaturised emission test chambers was tested. Comparisons between a 1 m3 emission test chamber and 44 mL microchambers with two particleboards over 28 days and between a 24 L desiccator chamber and the microchambers with three puzzle samples over 10 days resulted in a correlation coefficient r2 of 0.834 for formaldehyde at steady state. The correlation between the results obtained in microchambers vs. flask showed a high variability over 10 samples (r2: 0.145), thereby demonstrating the error-proneness of the flask method in comparison to methods carried out under ambient parameters. An exposure assessment was also performed for three toy puzzles: indoor formaldehyde concentrations caused by puzzles were not negligible (up to 8 µg/m3), especially when more conservative exposure scenarios were considered. KW - EN 717-3 KW - Formaldehyde KW - Wooden toys KW - Emission test chamber KW - Flask method KW - Microchamber PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-520196 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14020262 VL - 14 IS - 2 (Special issue: Measurement of the environmental impact of materials) SP - 262-1 EP - 262-16 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-52019 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Osan, J. A1 - Czömpöly, O. A1 - Gross, A. A1 - Stosnach, H. A1 - Stabile, L. A1 - Ochsenkuehn-Petropoulou, M. A1 - Tsakanika, L. A1 - Lymperopoulou, T. A1 - Goddard, S. A1 - Fiebig, M. A1 - Gaie-Levrel, F. A1 - Kayser, Y. A1 - Beckhoff, B. T1 - Quantification of Element Mass Concentrations in Ambient Aerosols by Combination of Cascade Impactor Sampling and Mobile Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy N2 - Quantitative chemical analysis of airborne particulate matter (PM) is vital for the understanding of health effects in indoor and outdoor environments, as well as for enforcing EU air quality regulations. Typically, airborne particles are sampled over long time periods on filters, followed by lab-based analysis, e.g., with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). During the EURAMET EMPIR AEROMET project, cascade impactor aerosol sampling is combined for the first time with on-site total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy to develop a tool for quantifying particle element compositions within short time intervals and even on-site. This makes variations of aerosol chemistry observable with time resolution only a few hours and with good size resolution in the PM10 range. The study investigates the proof of principles of this methodological approach. Acrylic discs and silicon wafers are shown to be suitable impactor carriers with sufficiently smooth and clean surfaces, and a non-destructive elemental mass concentration measurement with a lower limit of detection around 10 pg/m3 could be achieved. We demonstrate the traceability of field TXRF measurements to a radiometrically calibrated TXRF reference, and the results from both analytical methods correspond satisfactorily. KW - TXRF KW - Reference method KW - Cascade impactor KW - Ambient aerosols KW - Particles KW - Air quality monitoring KW - Element mass concentration KW - Size resolved chemical composition KW - Time resolved chemical composition KW - ICP-MS PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-521860 UR - http://www.aerometproject.com/ DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12030309 SN - 2073-4433 VL - 12 IS - 3 SP - 309 EP - 337 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-52186 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Even, Morgane A1 - Juritsch, Elevtheria A1 - Richter, Matthias T1 - Measurement of very volatile organic compounds (VVOCs) in indoor air by sorbent-based active sampling: Identifying the gaps towards standardisation N2 - The ISO 16000-6 standard describes a method for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor and test chamber air by sorbent-based active sampling, thermal desorption and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). It also gives directions to adapt this methodology to very volatile organic compounds (VVOCs). Indeed, toxicologically based guideline values are being implemented for these compounds and it becomes necessary to measure them. But a comprehensive and robust measurement method is lacking. This work highlights the points that still need to be explored towards the standardisation of a suitable procedure: investigations on sorbent combinations, the suitability of chromatography columns and the use of gaseous standards are required. The biggest challenge remains in the fact that strong sorbents adsorb water together with VVOCs. Water may impair the analysis and the optimal approach to eliminate it is still to be found and integrated into the sampling strategy. KW - Solvents KW - Air analysis KW - VOC KW - Thermal desorption KW - Gas chromatography KW - ISO 16000-6 PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-523919 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2021.116265 VL - 140 SP - 116265 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-52391 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Horender, S. A1 - Auderset, K. A1 - Quincey, P. A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Skov, S. N. A1 - Dierschel, K. A1 - Smith, T. O.M. A1 - Williams, K. A1 - Aegerter, C. C. A1 - Kalbermatter, D. M. A1 - Gaie-Levrel, F. A1 - Vasilatou, K. T1 - Facility for production of ambient-like model aerosols (PALMA) inthe laboratory: application in the intercomparison of automated PMmonitors with the reference gravimetric method N2 - A new facility has been developed which allows for a stable and reproducible production of ambient-like model aerosols (PALMA) in the laboratory. The set-up consists of multiple aerosol generators, a custom-made flow tube homogeniser, isokinetic sampling probes, and a system to control aerosol temperature and humidity. Model aerosols containing elemental carbon, secondary organic matter from the ozonolysis of α-pinene, inorganic salts such as ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, mineral dust particles,and water were generated under different environmental conditions and at different number and mass concentrations. The aerosol physical and chemical properties were characterised with an array of experimental methods, including scanning mobility particle sizing, ion chromatography, total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and thermo-optical analysis. The facility is very versatile and can find applications in the calibration and performance characterisation of aerosol instruments monitoring ambient air. In this study, we performed, as proof of concept, an intercomparison of three different commercial PM (particulate matter) monitors (TEOM1405, DustTrak DRX 8533 and Fidas Frog) with the gravimetric reference method under three simulated environmental scenarios. The results are presented and compared to previous field studies. We believe that the laboratory-based method for simulating ambient aerosols presented here could provide in the future a useful alternative to time-consuming and expensive field campaigns, which are often required for instrument certification and calibration. KW - Model aerosols KW - Intercomparison KW - PM monitors KW - Aerosol gravimetry PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-521342 DO - https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1225-2021 VL - 14 IS - 2 SP - 1225 EP - 1238 PB - Copernicus Publications AN - OPUS4-52134 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Even, Morgane A1 - Hutzler, C. A1 - Wilke, Olaf A1 - Luch, A. T1 - Emissions of volatile organic compounds from polymer-based consumer products: comparison of three emission chamber sizes N2 - The ISO 16000 standard series provide guidelines for emission measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials. However, polymer-based consumer products such as toys may also release harmful substances into indoor air. In such cases, the existing standard procedures are unsuitable for official control laboratories due to high costs for large emission testing chambers. This paper aims at developing and comparing alternative and more competitive methods for the emission testing of consumer products. The influence of the emission chamber size was investigated as smaller chambers are more suited to the common size of consumer products and may help to reduce the costs of testing. Comparison of the performance of a 203 l emission test chamber with two smaller chambers with the capacity of 24 l and 44 ml, respectively, was carried out by using a polyurethane reference material spiked with 14 VOCs during the course of 28 days. The area-specific emission rates obtained in the small chambers were always similar to those of the 203 l reference chamber after a few hours. This implies that smaller chambers can provide at least useful numbers on the extent of polymer-based consumer product emissions into indoor air, thereby supporting meaningful exposure assessments. KW - Comparison KW - Consumer products KW - Emission chamber KW - Reference material KW - Volatile organic compounds PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-493697 DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12605 VL - 30 IS - 1 SP - 40 EP - 48 PB - Wiley VCH-Verlag AN - OPUS4-49369 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ahlawat, A. A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Gottschalk, Martin A1 - Tuch, T. A1 - Wiedensohler, A. T1 - Observation of systematic deviations between Faraday cup aerosol electrometers for varying particle sizes and flow rates - results of the AEROMET FCAE workshop N2 - Condensation particle counters (CPCs) are widely used for the measurement of aerosol particle number concentrations in the size range from approximately 3 nm to 3 μm. For an SI-traceable calibration of the size-dependent counting efficiency, which is advisable on a regular basis and required in several applications, Faraday cup aerosol electrometers (FCAEs) are considered to be a suitable SI-traceable reference.While the volumetric aerosol inlet flowrate and the electrical current measurement in FCAEs can be related to respective SI references, inter-comparison exercises for FCAEs are still performed on a regular basis to establish reliable uncertainty budgets and to further investigate the influences of designs and operational parameters on comparability. This is strongly demanded in the international community of metrological institutes and aerosol calibration facilities around the world, which provide CPC calibrations. In the present study, the performance of FCAEs was investigated,using Ag test aerosol particles with a 30 nm particle diameter by varying the inlet flowrates from 0.5 l min−1 to 4 l min−1. From our experimental results, significant deviations were observed in FCAE currents at sample flowrates smaller than 1.5 l min−1. It is recommended that these discrepancies should be quantified before an FCAE is used for CPC calibration at low sample flowrates and small particle sizes in the sub-30 nm size range. KW - Faraday cup aerosol electrometer KW - CPC calibration KW - Inter-comparison KW - Aerosol measurement instruments PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-531315 DO - https://doi.org/10.1088/1681-7575/ac0710 SN - 1681-7575 SN - 0026-1394 VL - 58 IS - 5 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Institute of Physics (IOP) CY - Bristol, UK AN - OPUS4-53131 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - James, G. L. A1 - Latif, M. T. A1 - Isa, M. N. M. A1 - Bakar, M. F. A. A1 - Yusuf, N. Y. M. A1 - Broughton, William A1 - Murad, A. M. A1 - Abu Bakar, F. D. T1 - Metagenomic datasets of air samples collected during episodes of severe smoke-haze in Malaysia N2 - Transboundary emissions of smoke-haze from land and forest fires have recurred annually during the dry period (June to October, over the past few decades) in South East Asia. Hazardous air quality has been recorded in Malaysia during these episodes. Agricultural practices such as slash-and-burn of biomass and peat fires particularly in Sumatera and Kalimantan, Indonesia, have been implicated as the major causes of the haze. Past findings have shown that a diversity of microbes can thrive in air including in smoke-haze polluted air. In this study, metagenomic data were generated to reveal the diversity of microorganisms in air during days with and without haze. Air samples were collected during non-haze (2013A01) and two haze (2013A04 and 2013A05) periods in the month of June 2013. DNA was extracted from the samples, subjected to Multiple Displacement Amplification and whole genome sequencing (Next Generation Sequencing) using the HiSeq 2000 Platform. Extensive bio-informatic analyses of the raw sequence data then followed. Raw reads from these six air samples were deposited in the NCBI SRA databases under Bioproject PRJNA662021 with accession numbers SRX9087478, SRX9087479 and SRX9087480. KW - Forest fires KW - Haze Samples KW - NGS KW - Multiple Displacement Amplification PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-528973 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2021.107124 SN - 2352-3409 VL - 36 SP - 107124 PB - Elsevier Inc. CY - Amsterdam, Netherlands AN - OPUS4-52897 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tang, Chi-Long A1 - Seeger, Stefan T1 - Systematic ranking of filaments regarding their particulate emissions during fused filament fabrication 3D printing by means of a proposed standard test method N2 - The diversity of fused filament fabrication (FFF) filaments continues to grow rapidly as the popularity of FFF-3D desktop printers for the use as home fabrication devices has been greatly increased in the past decade. Potential harmful emissions and associated health risks when operating indoors have induced many emission studies. However, the lack of standardization of measurements impeded an objectifiable comparison of research findings. Therefore, we designed a chamber-based standard method, i.e., the strand printing method (SPM), which provides a standardized printing procedure and quantifies systematically the particle emission released from individual FFF-3D filaments under controlled conditions. Forty-four marketable filament products were tested. The total number of emitted particles (TP) varied by approximately four orders of magnitude (1E9 ≤ TP ≤ 1E13), indicating that origin of polymers, manufacturer-specific additives, and undeclared impurities have a strong influence. Our results suggest that TP characterizes an individual filament product and particle emissions cannot be categorized by the polymer type (e.g., PLA or ABS) alone. The user's choice of a filament product is therefore decisive for the exposure to released particles during operation. Thus, choosing a filament product awarded for low emissions seems to be an easily achievable preemptive measure to prevent health hazards. KW - Emission test method KW - FFF-printing KW - Particle emission KW - Indoor air quality KW - FFF-filament PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-545087 DO - https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.13010 SN - 1600-0668 VL - 32 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken, New Jersey, USA AN - OPUS4-54508 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vigna, L. A1 - Gottschalk, Martin A1 - Cacocciola, N. A1 - Verna, A. A1 - Marasso, S. L. A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Pirri, C.F. A1 - Cocuzza, M. T1 - Flexible and reusable parylene C mask technology for applications in cascade impactor air quality monitoring systems N2 - The development of traceable new methodologies to quantify elemental air pollutants in particulate matter (PM) supports modernization of methods used in air quality monitoring networks in Europe. In the framework of the EURAMET EMPIR AEROMET II project, the combination of cascade impactor aerosol sampling and total reflection X-ray fluorescence elemental spectroscopy (TXRF) was investigated. This technique requires a traceable calibration based on reference samples. This paper describes a new, simple and effective method to produce such reference samples using flexible, reusable, and low-cost parylene C shadow masks, fabricated by photolithographic steps. These shadow masks can be used to produce reference samples that mimic the Dekati cascade impactor’s deposition patterns by applying as-prepared micro stencils to 30 mm acrylic substrates and evaporating a reference material (Ti) in arrangements of thin circular dots. The highly flexible direct patterning of acrylic discs with reference material, otherwise impossible with conventional photolithography, allows multiple reusing of the same micro stencils. The aspect ratios of the dots could be repeated with an error less than 4 %. A first set of standard reference samples for the 13 stages of the Dekati cascade impactor was produced and preliminary TXRF measurements of the deposited Ti masses were performed. The centricity of the deposition patterns turned out to be an important parameter for the quality of the TXRF results. The parylene mask technology for the production of reference samples turns out to be a promising new approach for the traceable calibration of TXRF spectrometers for the quantification of element concentrations in environmental aerosol samples but, due to its great versatility, it could be used for several other micropatterning applications on conventional and unconventional substrates. KW - AEROMET II KW - Aerosol KW - Parylene C KW - Reference samples KW - Flexible shadow masks KW - Cascade impactor KW - Air quality monitoring KW - Micropatterning KW - Mask fabrication KW - Elemental aerosol analysis KW - TXRF PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mne.2022.100108 SN - 2590-0072 VL - 14 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Elsevier B.V. CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-54252 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scales, B. S. A1 - Hasenrück, C. A1 - Moldaenke, L. A1 - Hassa, J. A1 - Rückert-Reed, C. A1 - Rummel, C. A1 - Völkner, C. A1 - Rynek, R. A1 - Busche, T. A1 - Kalinowski, J. A1 - Jahnke, A. A1 - Schmitt-Jansen, M. A1 - Wendt-Potthoff, K. A1 - Oberbeckmann, Sonja T1 - Hunting for pigments in bacterial settlers of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch N2 - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a significant collection of plastic introduced by human activities, provides an ideal environment to study bacterial lifestyles on plastic substrates. We proposed that bacteria colonizing the floating plastic debris would develop strategies to deal with the ultravioletexposed substrate, such as the production of antioxidant pigments. We observed a variety of pigmentation in 67 strains that were directly cultivated from plastic pieces sampled from the Garbage Patch. The genomic analysis of four representative strains, each distinct in taxonomy, revealed multiple pathways for carotenoid production. These pathways include those that produce less common carotenoids and a cluster of photosynthetic genes. This cluster appears to originate from a potentially new species of the Rhodobacteraceae family. This represents the first report of an aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic bacterium from plastic biofilms. Spectral analysis showed that the bacteria actively produce carotenoids, such as betacarotene and beta-cryptoxanthin, and bacteriochlorophyll a. Furthermore, we discovered that the genetic ability to synthesize carotenoids is more common in plastic biofilms than in the surrounding water communities. Our findings suggest that plastic biofilms could be an overlooked source of bacteria-produced carotenoids, including rare forms. It also suggests that photoreactive molecules might play a crucial role in bacterial biofilm communities in surface water. KW - Microplastics KW - Biofilm KW - Pigment KW - Microorganisms PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-605725 DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16639 SN - 1462-2912 VL - 26 IS - 6 SP - e16639 PB - John Wiley & Sons Ltd. AN - OPUS4-60572 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Even, Morgane A1 - Juritsch, Elevtheria A1 - Richter, Matthias T1 - Selection of gas standards, gas chromatography column and adsorbents for the measurement of very volatile organic compounds (C1–C6) in indoor air N2 - The ISO 16000-6 standard gives directions to adapt the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor and test chamber air to very volatile organic compounds (VVOCs). The same techniques with sorbent-based active sampling, thermal desorption and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) should be used. However, VVOCs require gaseous standards, an adapted GC column and a reliable sampling adsorbent. This work presents experimental results to tackle those three experimental gaps. A stable standard gas mixture containing 47 VVOCs, 13 VOCs and an internal standard was successfully generated. It was employed to study the suitability of seven types of chromatography columns. The use of PLOT (Porous Layer Open Tubular) columns such as PoraBOND Q is well suitable for VVOC analysis. The recoveries of the 60 analytes on a total of 16 adsorbents and their combinations were determined: A combination of the graphitized carbon black Carbograph 5TD 40/60 and the carbon molecular sieve CarbosieveTM SII showed great recoveries for all analytes. Carbon molecular sieves adsorb water which can impair the analysis. A dry purge of the multi-sorbent in the sampling direction led to a complete water removal and promising recoveries of the analytes. KW - VVOC KW - VOC KW - ISO 16000-6 KW - Gas chromatography KW - Thermal desorption KW - Air sampling PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2022.340561 SN - 0003-2670 VL - 1238 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-56366 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Song, Jessica X. A1 - Scales, Brittan A1 - Nguyen, Minh A1 - Westberg, Emelie A1 - Witalis, Bartosz A1 - Urban-Malinga, Barbara A1 - Oberbeckmann, Sonja T1 - Close encounters on a micro scale: microplastic sorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their potential effects on associated biofilm communities N2 - Background: Within systems as dynamic as the aquatic environment, it is crucial to address the impacts of an ever-growing network of emerging pollutants at their intersection. With previous research having demonstrated the capacity of microplastics (MPs) to sorb persistent organic pollutants, we ask in our study how different plastic polymers that are found throughout aquatic systems interact with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and how this intersection of pollutants might impact the bacterial communities that form on MP surfaces. We performed an in situ incubation experiment at different sites along the Baltic Sea coast and through a PAH and 16S amplicon analysis, we investigated the sorption patterns of different substrates and their potential impacts on associated biofilm communities. Results: PAH sorption patterns of polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and aquaria stone were found to be dictated predominantly by substrate type and secondly by incubation site. While PE showed a general positive trend of sorption, stone rather leached PAHs into the environment, whereas the PAH levels of PS remained relatively unchanged following incubation. These sorption patterns correlated significantly with the composition of biofilm communities observed on all three substrate types after a 6-week incubation period. Strong correlations between specific PAHs and bacterial taxa indicate a direct relationship between these factors. Elevated levels of specific 3- and 4-ring PAHs on PE and PS coincided with higher proportions of specific taxa reportedly capable of hydrocarbon utilisation as well as a reduced diversity among biofilm communities. Conclusion: The findings in our study highlight the importance of investigating contaminants such as MPs holistically, including any associated substances, to fully understand how they impact surrounding ecological systems as they traverse the different compartments of the aquatic ecosystem. KW - Aquatic biofilms KW - Plastic pollution KW - PAH KW - Microbiome KW - Emerging contaminants PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-636658 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00747-w SN - 2524-6372 VL - 20 IS - 84 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - BMC Part of Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-63665 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jahnke, Annika A1 - Beck, Aaron J. A1 - Becker, Richard L. A1 - Bedulina, Daria A1 - Braun, Ulrike A1 - Gerdts, Gunnar A1 - Hildebrandt, Lars A1 - Joerss, Hanna A1 - Klein, Ole A1 - Korduan, Janine A1 - Laforsch, Christian A1 - Lannig, Gisela A1 - Leslie, Heather A. A1 - Lips, Stefan A1 - Menger, Frank A1 - Nabi, Deedar A1 - Oberbeckmann, Sonja A1 - Primpke, Sebastian A1 - Pröfrock, Daniel A1 - Ramsperger, Anja F.R.M. A1 - Römerscheid, Mara A1 - Schmitt-Jansen, Mechthild A1 - Scholz-Böttcher, Barbara M. A1 - Tröppner, Oliver A1 - Wendt-Potthoff, Katrin A1 - Kühnel, Dana T1 - Perspective article: Multisectoral considerations to enable a circular economy for plastics N2 - Plastics are widely used but improper disposal and release lead to increasing global pollution, threatening environmental and human health. To address this issue, we suggest intersectoral collaboration to achieve zero plastic pollution. The outcomes of the project P-LEACH demonstrated the enormous complexity and range of potential toxic effects of plastic-associated chemicals and micro-/nanoplastics released into water from UV-weathered plastics. We initiated an intersectoral dialogue amongst scientists, manufacturers, regulators and representatives of civil society about how to alleviate the negative impacts of plastic pollution. Circular economy offers a framework for selecting non-toxic chemicals, extending product (re)use, and waste reduction, which act to alleviate pollution when applied to plastics. We suggest three measures to advance a circular economy of plastics: 1.) Increase simplicity of chemicals in virgin plastics combined with transparent information on the contents; 2.) Consider recyclability already in plastic material and product design; 3.) Foster communication through intersectoral dialogue. Major cornerstones are the provision of standardized, easy-to-use tools to characterize plastics and plastic leachates chemically and (eco)toxicologically, the enhancement of citizen awareness enabling them to make informed choices, the creation of economic incentives for manufacturers, and sector-specific regulations to provide products that safeguard environmental and human health. KW - Plastics KW - Circular economy KW - Cross-sectoral dialogue KW - Recyclability KW - Plastic-associated chemicals PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-638280 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.139326 SN - 0304-3894 VL - 496 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-63828 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steger, S. A1 - Horn, Wolfgang A1 - Eggert, G. A1 - Krekel, C. T1 - Are cellulose ethers safe for the conservation of artwork? New insights in their VOC activity by means of Oddy testing N2 - Cellulose ethers, like methyl cellulose (MC) or hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), are widely used in conservation. They also occur as additives and rheology modifiers in various products like dispersions or gels. Do such products release harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC) during their accelerated aging? A mass testing series utilizing the Oddy test of 60 commercial cellulose ethers ranks the products in safe for permanent use (P, no corrosion), only for temporary use (T, slight corrosion), and unsuitable at all (F, heavy corrosion). Results show that 55% of the products passed the test whereas 33% are for temporary use as slight corrosion occurred on at least one metal coupon and only 11% failed the Oddy test. Raman measurements of the corrosion products identified oxides like massicot, litharge, cuprite, and tenorite among carbonates (hydrocerussite, plumbonacrite), and acetates like basic lead acetate, lead acetate trihydrate as well as lead formate as main phases. For example, commercial, industrial Klucel® G (HPC) scored a T rating through slight corrosion on the lead coupon. Basic lead acetate among other phases indicates the presence of acetic acid. Additional measurements of the sample with thermal desorption GC–MS utilizing the BEMMA scheme confirm the high acetic acid outgassing and reveal the presence of a small amount of formaldehyde. KW - Cellulose ether KW - Corrosion KW - Oddy test KW - VOC KW - BEMMA PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-547591 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00688-4 SN - 2050-7445 VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - Springer Open AN - OPUS4-54759 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Juritsch, Elevtheria A1 - Jann, Oliver T1 - Determination of recovery rates of adsorbents for sampling very volatile organic compounds (C1-C6) in dry and humid air in the sub-ppb range by use of thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry N2 - The reliable measurement of very volatile organic compounds (VVOC) in indoor air by use of thermal desorption gas chromatography (TD-GC) in order to include them into evaluation schemes for building products even nowadays is a great challenge. For capturing these small molecules with carbon numbers ranging from C 1 –C 6 , strong adsorbents are needed. In the present study, recovery rates of nine suitable adsorbents of the groups of porous polymers, graphitised carbon blacks (GCB) and carbon molecular sieves (CMS) are tested against a complex test gas standard containing 29 VVOC. By consideration of the recovery and the relative humidity (50% RH), combinations of the GCB Carbograph 5TD, the two CMS Carboxen 1003 and Carbosieve SII as well as the porous polymer Tenax® GR were identified to be potentially suitable for sampling the majority of the VVOC out of the gas mix. The results reveal a better performance of the adsorbents in combination than being used alone, particularly under humid sampling conditions. The recovery rates of the chosen compounds on each adsorbent should be in the range of 80–120%. KW - VVOC KW - Indoor Air: Adsorbent performance KW - Recovery rate KW - Thermal desorption KW - Gas chromatography PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2020.461389 VL - 1626 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-51106 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hofmann, Michael A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Jann, Oliver T1 - Robustness validation of a test procedure for the determination of the radon-222 exhalation rate from construction products in VOC emission test chambers N2 - This study investigated the adaptation of the state-of-the-art test procedure for the determination of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from materials into indoor air to test for the radon exhalation from stony construction products. A complete robustness validation including all relevant parameters showed that the procedure can be well applied by testing institutes already holding available the required VOC testing infrastructure that solely needs to be complemented by calibrated commercial radon measurement instrumentation. When measurements of the radon exhalation from construction materials become mandatory by law, test capacity can easily be applied. This work can serve as a recommendation for the European standardisation that still is on hold in this point. KW - Radon exhalation KW - Construction products KW - Emission test chamber KW - Robustness validation KW - Standardisation PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109372 SN - 0969-8043 VL - 166 IS - 109372 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-51145 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Horn, Wolfgang A1 - Juritsch, Elevtheria A1 - Klinge, A. A1 - Radeljic, L. A1 - Jann, Oliver T1 - Natural building materials for interior fitting and refurbishment - What about indoor emissions? N2 - Indoor air quality can be adversely affected by emissions from building materials, consequently having a negative impact on human health and well-being. In this study, more than 30 natural building materials (earth dry boards and plasters, bio-based insulation materials, and boards made of wood, flax, reed, straw, etc.) used for interior works were investigated as to their emissions of (semi-) volatile organic compounds ((S)VOC), formaldehyde, and radon. The study focused on the emissions from complete wall build-ups as they can be used for internal Partition walls and the internal insulation of external walls. Test chambers were designed, allowing the compounds to release only from the surface of the material facing indoors under testing Parameters that were chosen to simulate model room conditions. The emission test results were evaluated using the AgBB evaluation scheme, a procedure for the health-related evaluation of construction products and currently applied for the approval of specific groups of building materials in Germany. Seventeen out of 19 sample build-ups tested in this study would have passed this scheme since they generally proved to be low-emitting and although the combined emissions of multiple materials were tested, 50% of the measurements could be terminated before half of the total testing time. KW - Bio-based insulation KW - Earthen building materials KW - Volatile organic compounds KW - Semivolatile organic compounds KW - Radon PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-519634 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14010234 VL - 14 IS - 1 (Special issue: Measurement of the environmental impact of materials) SP - 234-1 EP - 234-14 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-51963 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -