ABSTRACT
The reference materials and related activities in India have gained considerable momentum after the formation of the national task force for reference materials development and use in the country in 1996. The major developments that have taken place as a result of the efforts made by this task force, after the Seventh International Symposium on Biological and Environmental Reference Materials, held at Antwerp, Belgium, include, (i) initiation of a national comprehensive programme for the development of reference materials of, gas mixtures, toxic metals in industrial effluents/sea water/human blood/milk powder/soil/fly ash, and bauxite, in 1998, (ii) organization of the Second National Workshop on the Development and Use of Reference Materials in 1999, (iii) identification of the institute for establishment of the Indian centre of the International database on reference materials, in February 2000, and (iv) initiation of a survey study for the establishment of a national centre for reference materials in April 2000. The matrix based certified reference materials developed and currently available in India mainly cover, cement and building materials, metallurgical products and raw materials, geological standards, and milk powder. In addition to this, standards of vaccines and sera, pharmaceuticals, and few calibration cottons are also available in the country.
Keywords:
- Reference materials
- Certified reference materials, Matrix
- Industrial effluents
- Sea water
- Milk powder
- Flyash
- Gas mixtures
- Human blood
- Vaccines
- Sera
- Immunological standards
- Pharmaceuticals
- Bauxite
- Cement
- Building materials
- Metallurgical products
- Geostandards
- Microbial cultures
- Toxic metals
- Calibration cottons
- Fibre testing
- Metal solutions
- Economic impact
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank all the agencies concerned with the preparation and availability of RMs in India and the REMTAF members for providing the necessary inputs, and Mr. Subhash Chand and Mrs. Rajni Arora for their help in preparation of the manuscript.