DIN ISO 12219-1:2013-12

Various volatile compounds (VOCs) are emitted from construction materials and synthetic products. Current researches focus on the health impact of airborne VOCs. In recent years, there has been increasing interest not only in the quality of ambient and workplace air but also in the indoor air quality in rooms other than workplaces. This is due not least to the fact that the human being spends up to 90 % of time indoors. The vehicle interior takes third place after homes and workplaces. Therefore, it is important to determine the material emissions of interior vehicle parts and to reduce them to an acceptable level, if required. It is necessary to obtain comprehensive and reliable information about the types of VOCs in the interior air of vehicles and also their concentrations. This part of ISO 12219 provides instructions and specifies requirements for the whole vehicle test chamber, the vapour sampling assembly and the operating conditions for the determination of VOCs, and carbonyl compounds in vehicle cabin air. There are three measurements performed: one for VOCs and carbonyl compounds during the simulation of ambient conditions (ambient mode) at standard conditions of 23 °C with no air exchange; a second only for the measurement of formaldehyde at elevated temperatures (parking mode); and a third for VOCs and carbonyl compounds simulating driving after the vehicle has been parked in the sun starting at elevated temperatures (driving mode). For the simulation of the mean sun irradiation in Europe, Asia, North America, etcetera, a fixed irradiation in the whole vehicle test chamber is employed. Before setting a fixed radiation density for heating the test vehicle for the method described in this part of ISO 12219, several validation measurements were performed. The VOC method is valid for measurement of non-polar and slightly polar VOCs in a concentration range of sub-micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) up to several milligrams per cubic metre (mg/m³). Using the principles described in this method, some semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) can also be analysed. Compatible compounds are those which can be trapped and released from the Tenax^® sorbent tubes described in ISO 16000-6 for analysis. The target compounds are VOCs ranging in volatility from n-C6 to n-C16. The sampling and analysis procedure for formaldehyde and other carbonyl compounds is performed by collecting air on to cartridges coated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH). The subsequent analysis is performed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection by ultraviolet absorption. Formaldehyde and other carbonyl compounds can be determined in the approximate concentration range 1 µg/m³ to 1 mg/m³. The method is valid for new as well as used passenger cars. This part of ISO 12219 describes: - transport and storage of the test vehicles until the start of the test, - conditioning for the surroundings of the test vehicle and the test vehicle itself as well as the whole vehicle test chamber, - conditioning of the test vehicle prior to measurements, - simulation of ambient air conditions (ambient mode), - formaldehyde sampling at elevated temperatures (parking mode), - simulation of driving after the test vehicle has been parked in the sun (driving mode).