Gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopic determination of benzene in indoor air during the use of biomass fuels in cooking time

A gas chromatography-mass spectroscopic method in electron ionization (EI) mode with MS/MS ion preparation using helium at flow rate 1 ml min−1 as carrier gas on DB-5 capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm i.d. film thickness 0.25 μm) has been developed for the determination of benzene in indoor air. The detection limit for benzene was 0.002 μg ml−1 with S/N: 4 (S: 66, N: 14). The benzene concentration for cooks during cooking time in indoor kitchen using dung fuel was 114.1 μg m−3 while it was 6.6 μg m−3 for open type kitchen. The benzene concentration was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in indoor kitchen with respect to open type kitchen using dung fuels. The wood fuel produces 36.5 μg m−3 of benzene in indoor kitchen. The concentration of benzene in indoor kitchen using wood fuel was significantly (p < 0.01) lower in comparison to dung fuel. This method may be helpful for environmental analytical chemist dealing with GC-MS in confirmation and quantification of benzene in environmental samples with health risk exposure assessment.