Regulations
Better Environmental Analytical Results
Warren Crummett Dow Chemical Co. U.S.A. Midland, Mich. 48640
In a 1978 report entitled "Cleaning Our Environment: A Chemical Perspective," T h e American Chemical Society Committee on Environmental Improvement stated t h a t " t h e cause of improving our environment cannot be advanced rationally unless the results of environmental measurements are correct and legally defensible." Among the recommendations advanced in support of this position is: "Analytical scientists must take the initiative in developing and promul-
gating standards for individual proficiency and for the determination of precision and accuracy, limits of detection, proof of presence of specific substances in environmental samples, and related aspects of quality assurance." To implement action on its own recommendation the Committee on Environmental Improvement appointed a Subcommittee on Environmental Analytical Chemistry with instructions to develop "Guidelines for Data Acquisition and Data Quality Evaluation in Environmental and Trace Analytical Chemistry." T h e scientists serving on this subcommittee are: Francis Amore, Henkel Corp.; Warren Crummett,
Chairman of the subcommittee, Dow Chemical Co., U.S.A.; Henry Freiser, University of Arizona; David Freeman, University of Maryland; Robert Libby, Procter & Gamble; Herbert Laitinen, University of Florida; Wendell Phillips, Campbell Soup Co.; Michael Reddy, State of N.Y., Dept. of Health; J o h n Taylor, National Bureau of Standards. T h e subcommittee has worked through the ACS Department of P u b lic Affairs and has had considerable help from David Wimert and Robert Smerko of t h a t office. It has also enjoyed special consultation with Lloyd Currie of T h e National Bureau of Standards and Richard Hummel,
*»««~~~
»
llQesr' S -" 0 · ;
1
SUDDENLY, YOU'VE GOT THE NEXT CENTURY'S ANSWERS!
LIFETIMES COUNT PRA understands how important fluorescence lifetime measurements are. Use the ONE technique that gives you the highest confidence in your results.
PR4 UNITÏD SUTES: P h o t o c h e m i c a l Research Assoc. 309 Louisiana Ave.. O a k R i d g e . Tennessee. 37830 (615) 483-3433
CIRCLE
INTERNATIONAL· P h o t o c h e m i c a l Research Assoc. Inc. 4 5 M e g Drive, London, O n t a r i o , CANADA N6E 2V2 (519) 686-2950 Telex 064-7597
176 O N READER SERVICE
0003-2700/79/0351-063A$01.00/0 © 1979 A m e r i c a n C h e m i c a l S o c i e t y
See it at the Pittsburgh Conference Booths 841 and 940
CARD
BAUSCH & LOMB ANALYTICAL SYSTEMS DIVISION ROCHESTER, N E W YORK 1 4 6 2 5 CIRCLE 2 3 ON READER SERVICE
CARD
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 52, NO. 1, JANUARY 1980 · 63 A
Little LC innovations to make your work easier. A. Column switching valves. You don't need wrenches to substitute one column for another one that's used for a different method. Just turn the valve handle back and forth. Type 70 stainless steel valves, manual or auto matic, cost $298 to $500 in the U.S. B. Solvent selection valves. Simply turn a valve handle to connect the pump inlet to different solvents - as many as six. With these Teflon valves you can easily switch between several mobile phases used for different methods. And during methods develop ment, you can try out different mobile phases quickly. Type 50 valves come in manual and automatic models. U.S. prices: $80 to $322.
C. Column inlet filter. An inexpensive way to prevent valuable analytical columns from plugging. Connects between sample injection valve and column. No loss of resolution. U.S. prices: $40 for filter holder, $20 for five 2 μίτι replaceable filter elements. More handy accessories. D. Pressure relief valves protect expensive equipment. E. Replaceable cartridge-type guard columns cap ture strongly adsorbed compounds. We also have not-so-simple equipment like advanced sample injectors and high-quality analytical columns. For all the details contact Rheodyne, Inc., 2809 Tenth St., Berkeley. California 94710, U.S.A. Phone (415) 548-5374.
RHEODYNE THE LC CONNECTION COMPANY
CIRCLE 182 ON READER SERVICE CARD
64 A · ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 52, NO. 1, JANUARY 1980
Gary Jewett, and James Tou of Dow Chemical Co., U.S.A. T h e goal of the subcommittee is to produce a short, simple set of guide lines which analytical chemists can follow to generate meaningful analyti cal data. T h e guidelines should be concise, clear, complete, and consis tent. They should be based on mathe matical calculations of certainty. They should be designed in such a way as to deal with the problems associated with sample selection, sample contam ination, sample degradation, back ground noise, interferences, signal de tection, signal measurement, identifi cation of pollutants, confirmation of the identification and measurement, corroboration, and any sources of con tamination. T h e subcommittee has determined t h a t the components of the analytical process are: quality assurance, sam pling, measurement, calculations, veri fication, and output. Minimum crite ria necessary to ensure meaningful re sults are being studied and developed for each of these components. Mini mum criteria for sampling include sta tistical design, number of samples, and sample collection, containment, preservation, documentation, trans port, and storage. Measurement crite ria include documented procedures, influence of possible interferences, calibration and standardization proce dures, a definition of the data set, per formance testing, and data handling. T h e data set includes calibration stan dards, field blank, spiked field blanks, spiked laboratory blanks, working standards, and field samples. Minimum criteria for calculations include the instrument response to the analyte, the concentration variability, the limit of detection, the limit of de termination, qualitative confirmation of validated measurements, and the percent recovery on blank samples. Criteria for verification consist of peer review and the use of additional con firmatory tests utilizing a different an alytical system. Criteria for o u t p u t deal with the way the number repre senting the final result is stated, the documentation used to determine the certainty of the results, and a report on interferences that are encountered. T h e report is presently undergoing a third revision by the subcommittee after which it will be sent to approxi mately 45 analytical scientists throughout the world for review and comment. After these comments have been appropriately incorporated into the report, it will be published, most probably in early 1980. It should be a welcome guide to all those concerned with environmental analysis in its es tablishment of criteria t h a t can be uniformly applied by scientific organi zations and federal agencies alike.
