Comparability of Measurements of PAHs in the Marine Environment – Results of a Performance-based Quality Assurance Program

Abstract

NIST efforts in providing mechanisms for assessing data quality and comparability for laboratories monitoring selected organic contaminants in the marine environment include method development, production of certified reference and other control materials, conduct of intercomparison exercises, and the coordination of quality assurance workshops for laboratories. Results from the 1994 intercomparison exercises illustrate current levels of PAH measurement comparability among participating laboratories. The mechanism used to determine the critical exercise analyte “assigned values” is evaluated using the results of an intercomparison exercise in which a candidate mussel tissue reference material was analyzed.

Key Words:

• PAH
• quality assurance
• marine
• intercomparison
• monitoring
• comparability