The inclusion of isocyanate analysis within the AQUA (Analytical Quality Assurance) interlaboratory quality assurance scheme was established in 1984. (The AQUA interlaboratory quality assurance scheme is equivalent to external quality assessment, in North America the term proficiency testing is preferred.) The participants include university, industrial, occupational consultant and government laboratories, both in the U.K. and abroad. The AQUA isocyanate scheme is linked to a specific analytical method. MDHS 25 [Health and Safety Executive, Organic isocyanates in air: laboratory method using 1-(2-methoxyphenyl) piperazine solution and high performance liquid chromatography. H.M. Stationery Office, London (1987)]. Results from the first 4 years of the scheme's operation are reviewed and individual laboratory performance indices assessed against the mean interlaboratory performance indices. Most of the laboratories in the scheme show a marked improvement with time, which in some instances has followed help and advice from the HSE. There has also been an overall reduction in intralaboratory variability over this period.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/34.1.77 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Interlaboratory comparison of particle filtration efficiency testing equipment.
J Occup Environ Hyg
January 2025
Metrology Research Centre, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Particle filtration efficiency (PFE) is a critical property of face masks, with the most common test methods using sodium chloride as a challenge aerosol. In the absence of bottom-up uncertainty budgets for PFE, interlaboratory comparisons provide an alternative route to robustly quantify the precision and bias of the method. This work presents the results of several interlaboratory comparisons of particle filtration efficiency performed across a network of laboratories.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommutability assessment of new standard reference materials (SRMs) for determining serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D using ligand binding and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assays.
Anal Bioanal Chem
January 2025
Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA.
Commutability is where the measurement response for a reference material (RM) is the same as for an individual patient sample with the same concentration of analyte measured using two or more measurement systems. Assessment of commutability is essential when the RM is used in a calibration hierarchy or to ensure that clinical measurements are comparable across different measurement procedures and at different times. The commutability of three new Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for determining serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], defined as the sum of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], was assessed through an interlaboratory study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoscale reference and test materials for the validation of characterization methods for engineered nanomaterials - current state, limitations, and needs.
Anal Bioanal Chem
January 2025
Division Biophotonics, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Richard-Willstaetter-Str. 11, 12489, Berlin, Germany.
The rational design of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) with improved functionality and their increasing industrial application requires reliable, validated, and ultimately standardized characterization methods for their application-relevant, physicochemical key properties such as size, size distribution, shape, or surface chemistry. This calls for nanoscale (certified) reference materials (CRMs; RMs) and well-characterized reference test materials (RTMs) termed also quality control (QC) samples, assessed, e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBehind the scenes of EQA-characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).
Clin Chem Lab Med
January 2025
Canadian Microbiology Proficiency Testing Program (CMPT), Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
The main stakeholders in external quality assessment (EQA) programs are the participants, in whose interests these challenges are ultimately organised. EQA schemes in the medical field contribute to improving the quality of patient care by evaluating the analytical and diagnostic quality of laboratory and point-of-care tests (POCT) by independent third parties and, if necessary, pointing out erroneous measurement results and analytical or diagnostic improvement potential. Other benefits include the option of using EQA samples for other important laboratory procedures, such as the verification or validation of diagnostic medical devices (IVD-MDs), a contribution to the estimation of measurement uncertainty, a means of training and educating laboratory staff through educational EQA programmes or samples, or even for independent and documented monitoring of staff competence, such as on samples with unusual or even exceptional characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBehind the scenes of EQA - characteristics, capabilities, benefits and assets of external quality assessment (EQA).
Clin Chem Lab Med
January 2025
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Canadian Microbiology Proficiency Testing Program (CMPT), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
This is the first in a series of five papers that detail the role and substantial impact that external quality assessment (EQA) and their providers' services play in ensuring diagnostic (IVD) performance quality. The aim is to give readers and users of EQA services an insight into the processes in EQA, explain to them what happens before EQA samples are delivered and after examination results are submitted to the provider, how they are assessed, what benefits participants can expect, but also who are stakeholders other than participants and what significance do EQA data and assessment results have for them. This first paper presents the history of EQA, insights into legal, financing and ethical matters, information technology used in EQA, structure and lifecycle of EQA programs, frequency and intensity of challenges, and unique requirements of extra-examination and educational EQA programs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!