Abstract
Although proficiency testing (PT) schemes in analytical chemistry are intended to test the entire analytical process, the reality is that some aspects of the analytical process are often excluded from this evaluation. This paper will describe an approach to PT that is being employed by the Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation designed to test specific aspects of the analytical process that are not typically addressed. The example detailed describes a PT study that was designed to test the ability of participants to obtain a representative test sample from a laboratory sample that was intentionally prepared to have good between-sample homogeneity but poor within-sample homogeneity.
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Harold Malle, Lois Esler and Halka Klement of the Environmental Science and Technology Laboratories, Environment and Climate Change Canada, for assistance in the design of the PT scheme and in the production, characterization and shipping of the PT samples used for this examination.
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Middlebrook, K. A proficiency testing scheme to evaluate the effectiveness of laboratory sample reduction of a soil sample. Accred Qual Assur 24, 137–143 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-018-1357-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-018-1357-1