TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Koch, Matthias A1 - Lehnik-Habrink, Petra A1 - Nehls, Irene T1 - Quantification of polychlorinated biphenyls in plastic granulates from the recycling of cables - Reference materials and interlaboratory comparison N2 - A procedure for the quantification of the PCB marker congeners 28, 52, 101, 138, 153, 180 in plastic waste form the recycling of cables in the range of content between 0.1 mg kg-1 and 20 mg kg-1 was validated. Representative reference materials for laboratory analyses were produced using granulates from different recycling processes. The method development included aspects of grinding, sieving, homogenising as well as the comparison of extraction methods and chromatographic conditions. The validated procedure foresees grinding of the technical sample to an upper particle size limit of 0.50 mm followed by extraction with an unpolar solvent such as n-hexane and gas chromatographic determination. LOD and LOQ for individual congeners ranged between 0.01 mg kg-1 and 0.08 mg kg-1. Electron capture detection (ECD) and mass selective detection (MS) were equivalent if chromatographic conditions were appropriately selected. The application of MS was advantageous in presence of significant amounts of interfering components which have been found in some cables. Three reference materials containing the marker congeners in the range of 0.1 mg kg-1–5 mg kg-1 were submitted to a final validation intercomparison with 23 selected field laboratories using the developed method. Relative reproducibility standard deviations varied between 15% and 33%. KW - PCB KW - Waste KW - Analysis KW - Method validation KW - Standardisation PY - 2006 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.02.035 SN - 0045-6535 SN - 0366-7111 VL - 65 IS - 9 SP - 1652 EP - 1659 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Kidlington, Oxford AN - OPUS4-14050 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Koch, Matthias A1 - Wachholz, Sigrid A1 - Win, Tin T1 - Quantification of total petrol hydrocarbons (TPH) in soil by IR-spectrometry and gas chromatography - conclusions from three proficiency testing rounds N2 - Due to the utilisation of 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane (CFE) as extraction solvent the IR-spectrometric determination of total petrol hydrocarbon (TPH) in soil according to ISO/TR 11046 has been replaced by gas chromatography/flame ionisation detection (GC/FID) after extraction with a halogen-free solvent according to ISO/DIS 16703:2001. The results obtained with both methods by field laboratories in three proficiency testing (PT) rounds are compared. The consensus means obtained with GC/FID are typically 10%-20% (ranging between 0% and 25%) higher than those found with IR-spectroscopy. On the contrary, coefficients of variation (CV) are roughly double in case of GC/FID and are briefly discussed against the background of the Horwitz equation. KW - Hydrocarbons KW - Soil KW - IR spectrometry KW - Gas chromatography KW - Interlaboratory comparison PY - 2002 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-002-0476-9 SN - 0949-1775 SN - 1432-0517 VL - 7 IS - 7 SP - 286 EP - 289 PB - Springer CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-1627 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Nehls, Irene A1 - Buge, Hans-Gerhard T1 - Referenzmaterialien für Umweltanalysen PY - 2001 SN - 0016-3538 IS - 45 SP - 1089 EP - 1091 PB - GIT-Verlag CY - Darmstadt AN - OPUS4-1186 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dorgerloh, Ute A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Nehls, Irene T1 - Ringversuche: Präparation mineralölkohlenwasserstoffhaltiger Abwasserproben KW - Analytik KW - Ringversuch KW - Abwasser KW - Mineralölkohlenwasserstoff KW - Probe KW - Qualitätssicherung KW - Chemical analysis KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - Wastewater KW - Mineral oil KW - Sample KW - Quality assurance PY - 2008 SN - 0083-6915 VL - 106 IS - 3 SP - 7 EP - 8 PB - Wiley-VCH Verl. CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-18289 LA - deu AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Dorgerloh, Ute A1 - Theißen, H. A1 - Nehls, Irene T1 - Stabilisation of groundwater samples for the quantification of organic trace pollutants N2 - The concentration of contaminants in groundwater samples can be decreased by degradation in the time course between field sampling and quantification in the laboratory, especially in samples from sites where degradation activity is enhanced by remediation measures. The sampling sites covered a variety of priority organic pollutants such as volatile aromatic and chlorinated compounds, phenols and petroleum hydrocarbons and different remediation strategies such as anaerobic and aerobic microbial in situ degradation, in situ chemical oxidation, and on-site purification with biological treatment. The stability of the contaminants' concentration was investigated over a time range of several hours without cooling in the autosampler of the analytical equipment (short term) and over several days of storage until analysis (long term). A number of stabilisation techniques suggested in international standards ISO 5667-3:2013 and ASTM D6517:2000 were compared both with regard to short term and long term stabilisation of the contaminants and their practicability for field sampling campaigns. Long term storage turned out to be problematic for most compound groups even under cooling. Short term stability was problematic also for volatiles such as benzenic aromates, naphthalene and volatile organic halogenated compounds to be analysed by headspace gas chromatography. Acidification (pH <2) was sufficient to prevent degradation of benzenic aromates, naphthalene, phenols and petrol hydrocarbons for up to seven days. The use of acids was not applicable to stabilise volatiles in waters rich in carbonates and sulphides due to stripping of the volatiles with the liberated gases. The addition of sodium azide was successfully used for stabilisation of volatile organic halogenated compounds. KW - Groundwater KW - Sampling KW - Organic pollutants KW - Stabilisation KW - Analysis PY - 2013 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c3em00332a SN - 2050-7887 SN - 2050-7895 VL - 15 IS - 12 SP - 2329 EP - 2337 PB - RSC Publ. CY - CambridgeRSC Publ. AN - OPUS4-29689 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ammann, Dominic A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Nehls, Irene T1 - Stability of ethyl glucuronide in hair reference materials after accelerated aging N2 - Two different hair reference materials, one produced from authentic hair displaying an ethyl glucuronide (EtG) content of about 25 pg/mg and one obtained by fortification of blank hair to an EtG level of 85 pg/mg were submitted to accelerated aging between 4 degrees C and 60 degrees C for periods between one and 24 months. Subsequently, the EtG content was determined in the aged samples and untreated reference samples stored at -22 degrees C under repeatability conditions following the so-called isochronous approach. The EtG content remained stable even at 40 degrees C for 24 months and at 60 degrees C over six months. This is in contrast to many organic analytes contained in trace concentrations in diverse matrices. A slight but significant increase of the recovered EtG in case of authentic hair samples having been exposed for 24 months between 4 degrees C and 60 degrees C may be due to a temperature-driven process that allows increased recoveries of the physiologically embedded EtG. KW - Alcohol marker KW - Micropulverization KW - HPLC-MS/MS KW - Fortification KW - Long term stability PY - 2015 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.09.015 SN - 0379-0738 SN - 1872-6283 VL - 257 SP - 337 EP - 340 PB - Elsevier Ireland Ldt. CY - Amsterdam [u.a.] AN - OPUS4-34940 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bremser, Wolfram A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Kipphardt, Heinrich A1 - Lehnik-Habrink, Petra A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Töpfer, Antje T1 - Stability testing in an integrated scheme N2 - ISO Guide 35 deals with RM stability issues and scrutinizes the evaluation of stability testing results under the assumption that either there is no trend at all (a rather rare situation), or any observed deterministic change is insignificant and thus can be neglected. However, market demands for reliable reference materials are obviously not limited to stable or at least seemingly stable materials. In many analytical applications, analytes and measurands under consideration are known, or at least suspected, to be unstable on time scales that may vary widely from measurand to measurand. The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) has developed (and successfully uses) an integrated approach in its certification practice. The approach is based on an initial stability study and subsequent post-certification monitoring. Data evaluation is model-based and takes advantage of all information collected in the stability testing scheme(s). It thus allows one to deal with any kind of instability observed, to assess limiting time intervals at any stress condition in the range tested, to estimate a final expiry date for materials with detected instabilities or the maximum admissible re-testing interval for seemingly stable materials, and to assess maximum admissible stress loads during delivery of the material to the customer. The article describes (and exemplifies) typical study layout, the model selection, and the integrated data assessment. KW - Certified reference materials KW - Stability KW - Shelf life KW - Arrhenius model KW - ERM PY - 2006 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-006-0152-6 SN - 0949-1775 SN - 1432-0517 VL - 11 IS - 10 SP - 489 EP - 495 PB - Springer CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-14063 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ogrinc, N. A1 - Rossi, A. M. A1 - Durbiano, F. A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Milavec, M. A1 - Bogozalec Kosir, A. A1 - Kakoulides, E. A1 - Ozer, H. A1 - Akcadag, F. A1 - Goenaga-Infante, H. A1 - Quaglia, M. A1 - Mallia, S. A1 - Umbricht, G. A1 - O'Connor, G. A1 - Guettler, B. T1 - Support for a European metrology network on food safety Food-MetNet N2 - This paper describes Food-MetNet, a coordinated preparatory initiative to establish the European Metrology Network on Food Safety (EMN-FS). Food-MetNet aims to establish a long-term ongoing dialogue between the metrology community and relevant stakeholders, in particular, European Union Reference Laboratories (EURLs), National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). This dialogue is meant to support the collection of needs from stakeholders, the take-up of metrological research output and the development of the roadmaps needed to navigate future research. KW - Network KW - Metrology KW - Food KW - Safety KW - Stakeholders PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.measen.2021.100285 VL - 18 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-53740 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Esslinger, Susanne A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Jung, Christian A1 - Schröter-Kermani, C. A1 - Bremser, Wolfram A1 - Nehls, Irene T1 - Temporal trend (1988-2008) of hexabromocyclododecane enantiomers in herring gull eggs from the german coastal region N2 - Levels of α-, β-, and γ-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) were determined in pooled eggs from herring gulls (Larus argentatus) sampled on three bird sanctuaries near the German North Sea coast between 1988 and 2008 (Mellum and Trischen) and the German Baltic Sea coast between 1998 and 2008 (Heuwiese) and archived by the German Environmental Specimen Bank. Pressurized fluid extraction, gel permeation chromatography, and LC–MS/MS using 13C12-labelled isotope standards and a chiral column were applied. α-HBCD was the dominating diastereomer and ranged between 3.7 and 107 ng g-1 lw while β- and γ-HBCD were throughout close to LOQ. The highest α-HBCD concentration was found in eggs from Mellum sampled in the year 2000. Interestingly, HBCD in eggs from the three islands displayed similar time courses with levels increasing to a peak contamination around 2000 and decreasing levels ever since. Chiral signatures of α-HBCD in eggs differed among the islands but indicated a preferential enrichment of the first eluting enantiomer (-)-α-HBCD. KW - Brominated flame retardant KW - Chiral separation KW - HPLC-ESI-MS/MS KW - Enantiomer-specific bioaccumulation PY - 2011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.12.047 SN - 0045-6535 SN - 0366-7111 VL - 83 IS - 2 SP - 161 EP - 167 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Kidlington, Oxford AN - OPUS4-23351 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Buge, Hans-Gerhard A1 - Nehls, Irene T1 - The determination of adsorbable organically bound halogens (AOX) in soil: interlaboratory comparisons and reference materials N2 - The interlaboratory variability in the quantification of adsorbable organically bound halogens (AOX) in industrially contaminated soil is presented. Three consecutive rounds of a proficiency testing scheme, in which between 88 and 119 routine laboratories participated, yielded relative reproducibility standard deviations between 7 and 20% at AOX contents between 10.9 and 268 mg kg-1. Nineteen laboratories with established proficiency were invited to participate in the certification of the AOX content in three soil reference materials meant for the internal quality control in analytical laboratories. The certified values are (1349 ± 59) mg kg-1, (80 ± 7) mg kg-1 and (102 ± 8) mg kg-1, respectively. KW - Certified reference materials KW - European Reference Material KW - Proficiency testing KW - Organohalogen compounds KW - Summation parameter PY - 2007 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-007-0308-z SN - 0949-1775 SN - 1432-0517 VL - 12 IS - 12 SP - 647 EP - 651 PB - Springer CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-16670 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -