A field method for near real-time analysis of perchloroethylene in end-exhaled breath.

The field method for near real-time analysis of perchloroethylene (Perc) in breath is simple, fast, and reproducible for Perc breath analysis in field settings and should prove useful in industrial hygiene practice. The method allows Perc monitoring with good specificity to the sub-part per million (ppm) level within minutes of exposure. A commercially available, portable gas chromatograph with a photoionization detector was used in these analyses.