What's new with the NRC certified reference material program

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• The National Research Council (NRC) Ottawa provides a range of environmental certified reference materials (CRMs).
• Current CRMs include natural waters, biological tissues, marine sediments, and fish tissue, covering elements, methylmercury, butyltins, organochlorines, PCBs, and dioxins.
• Ongoing efforts focus on expanding and improving the CRM portfolio.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report on the establishment of a certified value for arsenobetaine in Dogfish Muscle CRM DORM-2.
• To detail the certification approaches and extraction efficiency studies for this organoarsenic compound.
• To provide updates on stability studies for mercury in natural water and micronutrients in seawater for future CRM development.

Main Methods:

• Certification of arsenobetaine in DORM-2 involved rigorous analytical method validation and inter-laboratory comparisons.
• Extraction efficiency studies utilized specific analytical techniques to quantify organoarsenic compound recovery.
• Stability studies for mercury and micronutrients involved long-term monitoring under defined storage conditions.

Main Results:

• A certified value for arsenobetaine has been established for Dogfish Muscle CRM DORM-2.
• Extraction efficiency studies provided critical data for accurate quantification of arsenobetaine.
• A stability study for mercury in natural water was completed, supporting future CRM production.
• Assessment of micronutrient stability in seawater is ongoing, with progress reported.

Conclusions:

• NRC Ottawa continues to enhance its offerings of environmental CRMs.
• The certification of arsenobetaine in DORM-2 expands the available reference materials for organoarsenic analysis.
• Ongoing stability studies are crucial for the development of new, reliable CRMs for environmental monitoring.