Technical Bulletin No. 0598: Solid Sorbent/Solvent Desorption Methods for Measuring Chloroform in Workplace and Ambient Atmospheres

As a result of the recent lowering of OSHA's PEL for chloroform from 50 ppm to 2 ppm, interest has increased in measuring chloroform in pulp and paper industry workplace atmospheres. OSHA suggested that its Method 5 should be used for measuring chloroform concentrations in the range of the new PEL. There are some potential problems with using Method 5 for this purpose. Pulp and paper industry atmospheres may interfere with the measurement because of high temperature, high humidity, and the presence of chlorine.