Sampling and analytical determination of airborne tetramethyl and ethylene thiourea

Tetramethyl and ethylene thiourea are collected from air using midget impingers containing 15 mL water. Ethylene thiourea may also be collected from air using PVC or cellulose ester membrane filters which are then extracted with water. Pentacyanoamineferrate reagent is added to the filter-extract or to the impinger contents to form a colored coordination complex. The absorbance of the solution is measured spectrophotometrically at 590 nm, and the unknown concentration of tetramethyl or ethylene thiourea samples is determined from calibration curves. The detection limit is 0.75 microg/sample for ethylene thiourea and 3 microg/sample for tetramethyl thiourea. Experimental results indicate that this method can be used as a general analytical method for the analysis of other thiourea-derived compounds.