Development of laboratory reference material: Soil 1. Baseline and highly elevated concentrations of metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Reference materials play a key part in systems of inspection and quality control of results of analytical measurements. The main limitation in using certified reference materials (CRM) is their high price, which results from the long and costly process of producing the reference material. An alternative to costly CRM materials is the employment of laboratory reference materials, particularly for interlaboratory control of measurement results and procedures. Under the auspices of the Chair of Analytical Chemistry at the Chemical Department of Gdansk University of Technology, research on the development of new reference materials is being conducted. At present, the research is aimed at producing a new laboratory reference material (LRM): 'Soil 1. Baseline and Highly Elevated Concentrations of Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons' - LRM soil 1. This paper presents the production stages of the developed laboratory reference material: acquisition of raw material from soil samples taken from the environment of the Tri-city (in Polish, Trójmiasto Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia) bypass road, homogenization and subsequent dosage into appropriate containers, tests of homogeneity of sampled material within one container and between containers, based on the results of the determination of selected parameters (total carbon, content of optional metals - Hg, Fe, Cu Zn, Mn, Mg, water content, content of PAH-group analytes). The obtained results of homogeneity tests of the proposed future laboratory reference material have confirmed the homogeneity of soil samples within a container and between containers. Currently, interlaboratory tests are being carried out to determine the reference value.