Trends in quality in the analytical laboratory. I. Traceability and measurement uncertainty of analytical results

Credibility of analytical data has never caught the public’s eye more than today. The key principle for quality and reliability of results is comparability between laboratories and on a wider, international basis. In order to be comparable, analytical results must be reported with a statement of measurement uncertainty (MU) and they must be traceable to common primary references. This work focuses on traceability and uncertainty of results. We discuss different approaches to establishing traceability and evaluating MU. We place both concepts in the broader context of analytical method validation and quality assurance. We give up-to-date information in the framework of new, more exacting European and international standards, such as those from Eurachem/CITAC, IUPAC and ISO. a 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.