Currently On August 24, 2020, SGS Galson will change its TVOC by GCMS calculation and begin using the definition in ISO 16000-6. We historically calculated TVOCs in a variety of ways, following industry standards. ISO 16000-6 says to calculate the TVOC value as the sum of all compounds eluting between hexane and hexadecane on a GC chromatogram, expressed as a toluene equivalent.

This is a change from our current procedure of calculating TVOC as the sum of all VOC compounds, except for CO2, siloxanes and our internal standards. The VOC range outlined in ISO 16000-6 is narrower than our current protocol; however, the rest of the calculation remains the same. This change will result in fewer TVOCs being counted in the TVOC calculation and most notably will no longer count isopropyl alcohol towards TVOCs reported for our LEED clients.

For technical questions, please contact your SGS Galson Client Service representative.