Quantitative Analysis of Airborne Semi-Volatile Flame Retardants Using Sorbent Tube Sampling with TD–GC–MS

This study introduces the results of research into the performance of sorbent-tube sampling and Markes’ thermal desorption (TD) systems for the analysis of two classes of flame retardants of current concern – polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and organophosphates (OPs). Key indicators of method performance for these challenging semi-volatile compounds are reproducibilities <10.3%, carryovers <3.2%, linearities >0.998 and LODs <0.171 ng/m3, with a field study demonstrating the detection of OPs in indoor air at low ng/m3 levels.