Standard reference glass for the determination of trace elements

Objective

The glass industry needs to obtain glass reference materials to test procedures in on-going standardisation efforts and as tools in the setting of limit values. A high number of analyses is performed to evaluate air pollution upon melting of glass in order to comply with limit values for emission but, at present, the quality control of the measurements is still questionnable. Glass certified reference materials (CRMs) are available from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST, USA) but in many instances elements concerned by the EC Directive on emission control are not certified and are given for information only in these materials. New CRMs were considered to be necessary in response to the needs of improving the quality control of element determinations in glass in Europe.

The project aimed to carry out series of interlaboratory studies to evaluate the analytical state of the art of trace elements in glass and to organise a certification campaign of one glass CRM to be certified for its content of a range of trace elements (CRMs 664).
Three interlaboratory studies were conducted from 1994 to 1997 and enabled to improve the state of the art in such a way that certification was made possible. The certification campaign is being carried out with 17 laboratories from EU and Associated Member States. It is expected that the results will be discussed in June 1998 and that the glass reference material (CRM 664) could be made available in 1999. The candidate CRM is being analysed for its element contents (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Pb, Sb, Se), fluoride and chloride.
The different tasks were the following: (1) preparation of glass reference materials and calibrant solutions containing trace elements (2) organisation of a series of interlaboratory studies, (3) preparation of a large batch of candidate glass reference material, (4) organisation of a certification campaign, and (5) technical and statistical evaluation of the results followed by writing of the certification report.

Fields of science

• engineering and technology › materials engineering
• engineering and technology › environmental engineering › air pollution engineering
• natural sciences › earth and related environmental sciences › environmental sciences › pollution

Programme(s)

• FP3-MAT - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of measurements and testing, 1990-1994

Topic(s)

Data not available

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

STAZIONE SPERIMENTALE DEL VETRO

Address

Via Briati 10
30141 Venezia
Italy

Participants (1)

Schott Glaswerke

Germany

Address

Hattenbergstrasse 10
55122 Mainz