Certification of materials

Maier, E.A., Quevauviller, Ph. and Griepink, B. (1993) Interlaboratory studies as a tool for many purposes proficiency testing, learning exercises, quality control and certification of materials. Anal. Chim. Acta, 283, 590. 

The certification of the content of a substance of interest must follow strict, transparent and reliable procedures. The reputation of the certifying body will depend on this procedure and the absence of failures. Several valid procedures for the certification of material properties exist. They can be grouped into two categories ... 

Traceability of material used (original bills, test certificates of materials used, etc.)... 

Sampled scan data would be a benefit when it comes to certification of new inspectors or re-certification of existing staff. A large database of scans could be compiled and used randomly at test centres, which would help to avoid the samples becoming too familiar. Examinations could also be more easily tailored to the probes, types of materials and types of defects the inspector is likely to see. 

The latest government regulations set forth under the Toxic Substances Control Act and in PubHc Health Service pubHcations should be checked before formulating new lubricants. Users of lubricants should request Material Safety Data Sheets for each substance involved plus certification of compliance from vendors. Lubricant compounders should insist on similar information from their suppHers for any additive packages. Manufacturers of both additives and lubricants commonly make toxicity checks on commercial products. 

Appendix B of AAR Specifications deals with the certification of facilities. Fabrication, repairing, testing, and specialty work on tank cars must be done in certified facilities. The AAR certifies shops to build cars of certain materials, to do test work on cars, or to make certain repairs and alterations. 

There ar e many documents of biographic char acter in firnd the certificate of the professor, the diploma, materials about A.K. Babko s participation in conferences, symposiums, in lUPAC photos of the scientist during the various periods of a life correspondence with lar ge scientists of the world concer ning development of analytical chemistry as a whole, and in Ukraine. 

Match batch size to container size of critical components, using an integral number of whole containers, where possible Double check materials being added to reactor Complete batch loading sheets for each batch run Use of operator sign-off sheets Preweigh reactants before transferring to reactor Verify raw materials (certificate of analysis for critical materials)... 

Comparative references are devices which are used to verify that an item has the same properties as the reference. They may take the form of materials such as chemicals which are used in spectrographic analyzers or those used in tests for the presence of certain compounds in a mixture or they could be materials with certain finishes, textures, etc. Certificates should be produced and retained for such reference materials so that their validity is known to those who will use them. Materials that degrade over time should be dated and given a use by date. Care should be taken to avoid cross contamination and any degradation due to sunlight. A specification for each reference material should be prepared so that its properties can be verified. 

The certification of disk performance is to be based on actual bursting tests of two or more disks from a lot of the same material of the exact same size as the disk to be sold by the manufacturer. The holder for the test disks must be identical to the design, dimensions, etc., for the disk being certified. (See details ASME code. Par. UG-127 [1]). 

Your children may be exposed to endosulfan if unquahfied people apply pesticides around your home. In some cases, the use of pesticides that have been banned for use in homes has turned homes into hazardous waste sites. Your state licenses each person qualified to apply pesticides using EPA standards and further certifies each person qualified to apply restricted use pesticides. Ask to see the license and certification of anyone who applies pesticides for you. Also ask for the brand name of the pesticide, a material safety data sheet (MSDS), the name of the product s active ingredient, and the EPA registration number. Ask whether EPA has designated the pesticide for restricted use and what the approved uses are. This information is important if you or your family have a reaction to the product. 

Good Manufacturing Practice and certification of starting materials for the industrial manufacture of medicinal products. Concept paper on a Community regulatory framework , 1995 European Commission, Directorate General IE, Industry Consumer Goods Industries III/E/3 Pharmaceuticals, July. 

Further afield, in 1978 the Japanese National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) started the production of a series of biological and environmental matrix CRMs, certified for a number of trace elements (Okamoto and Fuwa 1985). Recently also the certification of metal species in some materials was reported (Okamoto and Yoshinaga 1999). 

In those cases where there are any doubts about the feasibility of producing a sufficiently homogeneous and stable reference material, a feasibility study might be needed. For this study, an extra amount of material is needed. Questions regarding the best way of preparing the sample, the stability of the material, or the fitness for purpose might justify the inclusion of a feasibility study in the project. In the BCR projects, it is common practice to have a feasibility study, which usually has as the sole purpose of assessing the performance of the laboratories in the collaborative study in relation to the certification of the reference material. The feasibility study allows the participants to fine-tune their equipment, their methods, and their procedures in view of the characterization measurements. In each of these cases, a considerable extra number of samples is needed. 

After the verification of homogeneity and stability, the characterization of material can take place. Frequently, this step is named certification rather than characterization, which is wrong in view of the discussion about homogeneity and stability and their impact on the reference material. The certification of our reference material is more than the characterization of the material. Flowever, for most people working on the development of measurement methods, the characterization is the most interesting part of the project. This probably explains the huge amount of literature available. 

Dybczynski R (1995) The contribution of various analytical techniques to the certification of reference materials. Fresenius J Anal Chem 352 120-124. 

ISO Guide 31 (1981) Contents of certificates of reference materials. (Revised April 1996 as ISO/ REMCO document N 382. Actual update 20 July 2000.) International Organization for Standardization, Geneva. 

Kucera j, Mader P, Miholova D, Cibulka J, Faltejsek J and Kordik D (1995) Preparation of the bovine kidney and bovine muscle reference materials and the certification of element contents fi om interlaboratory comparisons. Fresenius J Anal Chem 352 66-72. 

Lee H-B and Chau ASY (1987) Analytical reference materials Part VII. development and certification of a sediment reference material for total polychlorinated biphenyls. Analyst 112 37-40. Meinke WW (1971) Standard reference materials for clinical measurements. Anal Chem 43(6) 28A-47A. 

Versieck J, Vanballenberghe L, de Kesel A, Baeck N, Steyart H, Byrne AR and Sunderman FW Jr. (1988) Certification of a second-generation biological reference material (freeze dried human serum) for trace element determinations. Anal Chim Acta 204 63-75. 

A large number of considerations and factors must be entertained for the conception, development, preparation, assessment, characterization, and certification of RMs, including (a) end use requirements, (b) selection of materials, (c) preparation, (d) physical characterization, (e) chemical characterization, (f) certification, (g) documentation, and (h) distribution. Most of these have an overwhelming impact on the finally developed RM and on its credibility. This section deals with the steps, collectively denoted as collection and preparation, occurring early in the scheme of RM development. It treats general collection and preparation principles, and provides specific examples of preparative procedures. 

Benoliel MJ. Quevauviller P, Rodrigues E, Andrade ME, Cavaco MA, Cortez L (1997) Certification of reference materials for quality control of major element determinations in ground-water Part i Feasibility study, fresenius J Anal Chem 358 574-580. 

European Commission (1994) Guidelines for the Production and Certification of BCR Reference Materials. European Commission Doc. BCR/48/93, Brussels. 

Fraser CA, Gardner GJ, Maxwell PS, Kubwabo C, Guevremont R, Siu KWM, Berman SS (1995) Preparation and certification of a biological reference material (CARP-i) for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofliran congeners. Fresenius J Anal Chem 352 143-147. Gardiner PE (1993) Consideration in the preparation of biological and environmental reference materials for use in the study of the chemical speciation of trace elements. Fresenius J Anal Chem 345 287-190. 

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