BS ISO 17735:2019

What is ISO 17735 about?  

ISO 17735 specifies a method for the sampling and analysis of airborne organic isocyanates in workplace air. 

ISO 17735 applies to a wide range of organic compounds containing isocyanate groups, including monofunctional isocyanates, diisocyanate monomers, prepolymers, as well as chromatographable intermediate products formed during production or thermal breakdown of polyurethane. 

Who is ISO 17735 for? 

ISO 17735 on isocyanate concentration in the air at the workplace, is useful for: 

• Manufacturing units where polyurethane is processed
• Paint industry 
• Foam, insulation, packaging industries 
• Rubber and adhesive industries 
• Furnishings manufacturers – furniture, bedding, carpet underlay 
• Chemical engineers 
• Quality control personnel 
• Health and safety inspectors 
• Human resource executives 

Why should you use ISO 17735:2019? 

Maintaining acceptable air quality at the workplace is a priority for you. Since exposure to isocyanate can cause occupational asthma and skin problems, you need to ensure that the air at your facility has acceptable levels of this allergen. ISO 17735 guidelines help you to measure the isocyanate levels in the air using two methods. 

ISO 17735 specifies the use of 1-(9-anthracenylmethyl) piperazine (MAP) to measure monomeric and oligomeric isocyanate species in workplace atmospheres. MAP is designed to improve the reliability of identification of isocyanate species in sample chromatograms and to improve the accuracy of quantification of these species relative to established reagents that are specified in ISO 17735. 

ISO 17735 provides the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis that uses a pH gradient to selectively accelerate the elution of MAP derivatives of oligomeric isocyanates that can be unobservable in an isocratic analysis, the performance of MAP has been compared to other reagents used for total isocyanate analysis. 

What’s changed since the last update? 

BS ISO 17735:2019 supersedes BS ISO 17735:2009, which is withdrawn. 

The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows: 

• Additional limit of detection information has been provided 
• The method has been used in high air concentrations successfully with a higher reagent concentration in an impinger 
• During the processing of impinger samples, rinsing the SPE cartridge with 6 ml dichloromethane has been changed to rinsing with two consecutive 3 ml aliquots. This is more effective in removing all the butyl benzoate impinger solvents 
• The liquid chromatographic system has been adapted to use a smaller diameter analytical column