A Single-Method Approach for the Analysis of Volatile and Semivolatile Organic Compounds in Air Using Thermal Desorption Coupled with GC-MS

This article describes a new, single method to replace the two-method approach using United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Methods TO-15 and TO-13A for the analysis of both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in air. The study presents evidence that these components can be determined using one analytical method that follows EPA TO-17 capturing the volatile compounds in addition to recovering the heaviest components, such as benzo[ghi] perylene. The investigation also takes a look at some of the 50 additional compounds that are expected to be added to this list in the near future.