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Analytical Chemistry Division (V)

Teamwork
- Issue No. 12 - July 2006 -

< Issue No.11

This issue of 'Teamwork' includes:

ACD Committee meeting in Rome

The ACD met in Rome on 4th and 5th March 2006. The meeting was hosted by the Italian National Agency for the Environmental Protection and Technical Services - APAT. 2/3 of the eighteen ACD members were this time able to attend the meeting. In attendance was also Dr. Paolo De Zorzi from Italy.

The most important discussion points were:

    • Division objectives and organization for 2006-2007, including review of current objectives, priorities and core business. The ACD has confirmed the six core activities for the biennium, namely communication, critical evaluation of data, quality assurance, electronic resources/terminology, emerging analytical communities and emerging analytical issues.
    • Review of the current strategies, operation and efficiency, where a lot of emphasis was put on the role and responsibility of the ACD members to increase the visibility of the ACD to outside world and to promote the IUPAC project oriented approach. The ACD should maintain its key products, namely the Orange Book and Stability Constants database. The transfer of the physical maintenance of this data base from the Academic Software to the ACD together with IUPAC Secretariat was discussed in detail.
    • ACD public relations, specifically visibility, image and outreach were extensively discussed. Series of articles in Chemistry International, divisional web page, divisional newsletter Teamwork, co-organization of conferences and workshops, strengthened links with editors of journals on analytical chemistry, and other possible ways of communication were touched.

 

ACD composition and new members

ACD is currently composed of 10 Titular Members (including 4 officers), 6 Associated Members, and 8 National Representatives (10 are possible), and one provisional member. The Subcommittee on Solubility and Equilibrium Data (SSED) and the Interdivisional Working Party for Harmonization of Quality Assurance (WPQA) continue to be an integral part of the Division. On becoming the IUPAC Vice President, Prof. K. Matsumoto has been replaced by Prof. H. Watarai as Japanese representative. 2006-2007 new members of the SSDE are Prof. E. Königsberger and Prof. J.W. Lorimer. New members of the WPQA for the same period are Dr. M. Belli, Dr. I. Kuselman and Dr. P. De Zorzi, who is also taking over the chairmanship of the WPQA in 2007.

The ACD Committee wish to thank all its members who have retired from the committee activities for their contribution and is looking forward to keep the contacts at least through its Experts list.

> see current membership

 

ACD projects

There are currently 34 active projects under the ACD umbrella, including 2 projects run by the WPQA, 12 projects run by the SSDE and one project of the Division VI in which the ACD is directly involved. Complete project list and detailed information can be obtained from:
http://www.iupac.org/divisions/V/cp5.html

 

Report from the IUPAC - APAT Workshop

The international workshop on Combining and Reporting Analytical Results - The Role of (metrological) Traceability and (measurement) Uncertainty for Comparing Analytical Results, has been initiated by the WPQA in 2005 and was organized by IUPAC and the Italian Environmental Protection Agency (APAT), which also hosted the event.

Workshop was sponsored by the Centre for Materials Development, Italy, the international Atomic energy Agency (IAEA), the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance - Metrology in Chemistry (CCQM), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the Co-operation on International Traceability in Analytical Chemistry (CITAC), the ISO Committee on Reference Materials (ISO REMCO) and UNIDO. One can understand this as a reflection of a very good co-operation of the WPGA and ACD with listed organizations.

The need for such a workshop arose from the fact that there is now a formal requirement for laboratories to introduce quality assurance measures to ensure and to demonstrate that they are capable of providing data of the required quality. Such measures include among others: the use of validated methods of analysis; the use of internal quality control procedures; participation in proficiency testing schemes; accreditation based on relevant standards (e.g. the ISO 17025 standard), and establishing metrological traceability of their measurements results, which have to be reported with their associated uncertainties. In many measurement areas (chemical and biological analysis) some of the above listed requirements are still not always fulfilled. The ways, to achieve these outcomes are still under discussion. For example:
- The degree to which the results obtained by different analytical methods or in different laboratories are expected to agree.
- Metrological traceability and accepted stated references (defined measurement standard or SI units).
- Approaches to quantification, reporting and use of information on uncertainty associated with single or combined measurement results.
- Methods used in laboratory performance assessment (e.g. proficiency tests).

In this sense the aim of the workshop was to review and compare current practices from various measurement areas and fields in dealing with the above listed topics. It should provide a ground for better understanding, exchange of views and open eventual pathways for improvements and harmonization.

The workshop was attended by 120 participants from 35 countries. Five workshop sessions were organized, covering the metrological issues in the international context, traceability as a challenge for the analysts, the role of uncertainty in combining data, the role of reference materials and interlaboratory studies (proficiency test) in improving the quality of measurement results. Contributions were presented as lectures or posters. They are all available for review at the following web address: http://www.apat.gov.it/site/it-IT/Rubriche/Eventi/2006/Marzo/workshopIupac.html
Most of the presentations will also be published as full papers in the special series proceedings book by the Royal Society of Chemistry. The book is in the process of editing and its publication is expected within the next three months.

 

New ACD projects

During the last project selection round (30 April) the following projects were selected for funding by our Division:
- Critical report regarding the determination of selenomethionine in selenized yeast supplements, coordinated by Zoltan Mester
- Trace elements analysis: role of grain size distribution in solid reference materials, coordinated by Maria Belli
- The Adjustment, Estimation and Uses of Equilibrium Reaction Constants in Aqueous Solution, coordinated by Igor V. Sukhno

We wish the task groups good luck to bring the projects to a successful end.

 

Provisional Recommendations

IUPAC Guidelines for Potentiometric Measurements in Suspensions - Practical pH Measurements in Soil Suspension, resulting from the ACD project 2004-016-2-500, were posted on the IUPAC web page for public review. Readers are invited to submit their comments by 30 September 2006.

 

ACD links with other International Organizations and Groups

In the 2006-2007 biennium the Members of the ACD formally represent IUPAC in the following organizations: the Inter Agency Meeting (IAM), the International Committee on Weights and Measures/Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance - Metrology in Chemistry (CIPM/CCQM), the International Committee on Weight and Measures/Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (CIPM/JCGM), the International Organization for Standardization - Committee on Reference Materials (ISO REMCO). There are however numerous other organizations and groups with which the ACD members cooperate. In the forthcoming issues of Teamwork we intend to provide a short description of the activites of these organizations in liaison (one per issue) and to provide the necessary links for interested readers. This time we start with the ISO Committee on Reference Materials.
> See an Introduction to REMCO (37 pages - pdf file -2.7MKB)

 

Next call for the project proposal selection for competitive funding

The next Selection Date for projects for competitive funding is October 31, 2006, and all review must be completed by October 1, 2006 to be eligible.

 

Ales Fajgelj
[email protected]

 
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