Testing breathing air in accordance with NEN-EN 12021
NEDLAB laboratory of Air and Gases performs quility control of compressed air and gases for all applications and branches in which they are used.
If your company uses compressed breathing air, it’s required by law to get your air quality tested by a certified laboratory by the EN 12021 standards. Compressed breathing air should never be contaminated by any toxins and there are strict rules about the amount of oil, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water that are allowed. Getting breathing air tested is best practice and protects you and your employees from (permanent) injuries. The European EN 12021 standard contains the requirements for compressed breathing air and its quality. 
The NEN in the Netherlands
NEN is the Royal Dutch Standardization Institute. They connect parties and stakeholders and set their agreements in standards and guidelines. The NEN has over 34.000 standards that can be divided by category:
- ISO and IEC: the international standards accepted by the Netherlands
- EN: European standards
- NEN: National standards
These standards contain agreements about products, methods, processes and services. They describe anything from toys, to fire safety and cyber security. In some situations, the standards are of vital importance.
Testing breathing air in accordance with NEN-EN 12021
At Air and Gases, we will test your breathing air, synthetic air, low-nitrogen and nitrogen-enriched air, oxygen for ventilation and mixtures containing oxygen in accordance with the conditions determined by the NEN-EN 12021 to comply to the standard. For example, we will check the composition and whether the limit values for contamination are exceeded. Breathing air should contain hardly any oil. There are also limit values for the amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and water in the air.
NEDLAB Air and Gases
The laboratory of Air and Gases is certified (ISO 9001) and accredited (ISO 17025). Among other things, we perform quality control of compressed air and gases for all applications and branches in which they are used, for example, medical compressed air, respiratory protection, compressed air for the technological or metalworking industry and MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) in the food industry. Our employees take samples, take measurements on location, analyse air and gases in our laboratory and offer a wide variety of testing, analysis and research capabilities. Has it been a while since your air has been tested in accordance with NEN-EN 12021, or do you have concerns about the quality? Please contact us.
