Establishing a protocol from laboratory studies to be used in field sampling operations.

A laboratory procedure is described that has been used in determining the breakdown products of plastic compounds used in injection molding operations. These compounds include polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, methyl methacrylate, polyethylene, polypropylene, and nylon. Laboratory samples were generated at injection molding temperatures and collected on various solid sorbents. Detector tubes were used for qualitative information to indicate whether certain classes of compounds were present. Compounds identified from the analyses of these laboratory samples are listed. Qualitative gas chromatography-mass spectormetry (GC/MS) data obtained from charcoal tube samples collected at a tire molding and a rubber producing company are also presented.