Monitoring the quality of air in homes, workplaces, and transportation is important to our health and well-being. While poor indoor air quality can cause mild symptoms such as tiredness and headaches, long-term exposure may lead to more serious conditions. The compounds of concern are varied and include volatile and semi-volatile compounds (VOCs and SVOCs), metals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and others.
Testing is performed for a range of purposes around the world, from protecting consumer environmental health to ensuring workplace safety via US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU OSHA), and other organizations’ air testing methods. The compounds of concern are varied and include VOCs and SVOCs, metals, PFAS, and others. Given the range of possible contaminants, a variety of techniques are used for analysis. Targeted methods typically rely on gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (MS), liquid chromatography (LC) and LC/MS, and spectroscopy techniques such as inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-MS. When a comprehensive picture of sample components is desired, non-targeted high-resolution GC- and LC-quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) methods are used.
With over 40 years of environmental analysis and regulatory expertise, Agilent offers solutions comprised of instruments, chromatography workstations, consumables, and services designed to meet needs for accurate trace-level analysis of components in air samples.
If you have questions about air testing applications or would like to be contacted by an Agilent representative, let us know below.