Testing chemical emissions from construction materials & other everyday products

Specialist analytical thermal desorption instrumentation manufacturer, Markes International Ltd (Llantrisant, UK), has announced the publication of a 4-page brochure introducing the rapidly developing area of chemical emissions (VOC and SVOC) testing from construction materials and other everyday products.

With the advent of new legislation requiring the measurement and reporting of VOC emissions as part of product certification (e.g. CE marking), there is increasing pressure on manufacturers to test their products for chemicals which may be released during use. Much of manufacturing industry will be impacted, with producers of flooring, furniture, toys, domestic goods, cleaning products, wood-based materials, thermal/sound insulation, coatings and adhesive/sealants being in the front line, together with all their suppliers. Standard methods for testing specify chambers, micro-chambers or cells in combination with thermal desorption and GC/MS or FID.

This new brochure serves as a simple introduction to this subject. It describes the new legislation being unveiled and adopted by manufacturer and testing laboratories alike. The brochure also discusses test equipment required for such screening and new methods for data analysis.

For a more in-depth, application focussed study, Markes International also has a 50-page booklet full of material emissions testing applications.

Markes International provides an innovative range of instrumentation, accessories and consumables for enhancing trace GC/MS analysis. Products include: thermal desorption (TD) instruments, headspace (HS)-TD technology and a broad portfolio of sampling accessories covering air sampling, materials emissions testing, breath sampling, soil gas analysis and direct desorption of volatiles from materials. Further information is available from the company on its website www.markes.com, by email enquiries@markes.com or phone +44 (0) 1443 230935.