Comprehensive Approach as a Feature of Quality Assurance of Measurements of Metal Contents in Air Environments

   Determining the composition of air environments (workplace air, atmospheric air, industrial emissions into the atmosphere) is important for environmental safety. Measuring their composition indicators in automatic mode is a priority direction in the activities of enterprises. However, measuring the content of metals in automatic mode is currently a complex, time-consuming and expensive task. The first step to eliminating these shortcomings may be an analysis of the capabilities of available measurement methods and reference materials. The authors of the review article described a comprehensive approach to ensuring the quality and accuracy of the measurement results of metal content in air environments, implemented using methods and reference materials developed at the UNIIM – Affiliated Branch of the D. I. Mendeleyev Institute for Metrology. The bibliographic is based on regulatory documents in the field of monitoring the state of air environments, in particular, RF Government Resolution No. 1847, GOST R 8.960-2019, GOST R 70803–2023, GOST R ISO 15202-1-2023, GOST 12.1.005–88 and others (27 sources in total). An array of relevant methodological recommendations was analyzed, for example, PND F 12.1.1–99, MU No. 4574–88 and others. Separately, the methods for measuring metal content in air environments developed by the UNIIM based on the most available measurement methods for most laboratories – photometric, titrimetric. The article provides a clear idea of the comprehensive approach to ensuring the quality of measurements of metal contents in air environments. The review article is structured as a combination of actions: development of measurement methods and their certification, development of reference materials for certification of measurement methods and quality control of the measurement results, conducting tests to approve types of reference materials, conducting interlaboratory comparison tests to control the quality of sampling procedures and quality control of the measurement results of metal contents in air environments. The article is addressed to testing laboratories , including industrial enterprises and environmental monitoring. Detailed explanations provide an idea of the fact that the measurement methods developed by the UNIIM can be used to determine the content of metals (components) in various air environments: workplace air, atmospheric air, industrial emissions into the atmosphere. Users of the specified methods will be able to vary the measurement parameters taking into account the technical capabilities of the laboratory without deviating from the provisions of GOST 12.1.005–88, PND F 12.1.1–99.

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