This document specifies the sampling and testing of low volatile organic compound (VOC) coating materials and their raw materials. In particular, this document specifies a gas-chromatographic method to quantitatively determine the VOC content (i.e. the content of organic compounds with boiling points up to 250 °C) under standard conditions (101,325 kPa). It is applicable to VOC contents between 0,01 % and 0,1 % by mass.

This document does not apply to the determination of the semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) content, which is covered in ISO 11890-2.

This document does not apply to volatile organic and volatile inorganic compounds that cannot be determined by gas chromatography.

The procedure for identifying the appropriate method for the determination of VOC content and the SVOC content of coating materials and their raw materials is described in ISO/TR 5601.