An interlaboratory comparison program for testing the physical hazards of hazardous substances and mixtures and dangerous goods and substances has been launched by the German institutions BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Berlin, the Management and Statistics GmbH (quo data), Dresden, and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig.

Interlaboratory comparisons of the test methods for assessing physical and chemical properties such as explosive properties, flammability, oxidizing properties, corrosion behaviour, flash point, ignition temperature and combustibility of substances, preparations and mixtures should be carried out regularly and with world-wide participation.

The next interlaboratory comparison which will be performed on the UN test method UN-O.2 “Test for oxidizing liquids” in the second half of 2009 has now been announced (see: http://quodata.de/en/interlaboratory-tests/dangerous-goods.html). An interlaboratory comparison on the UN N.1 method ‘Test method for readily combustible solids’ will take place in 2010. All data and the evaluation will be dealt with anonymously. Each participant will get a certificate which allows him to identify his laboratory’s results by the lab-code. No other participant will be able to assign other results to other laboratories.

All laboratories may obtain information about current and future interlaboratory comparisons on the EPTIS Proficiency Testing Information System website (http://www.eptis.bam.de/en/).

(Source: http://www.bam.de/en/aktuell/pressemitteilungen/pm_2009/pm06_2009.htm).