Micro-heterogeneity study of trace elements in BCR CRM 680 by means of synchrotron micro-XRF

BCR CRM 680 is a newly released reference material (RM) with a polyolefinic matrix, doped with various metallic compounds in trace concentrations, to be used for calibration of multi-element trace analytical methods. The micr o-heterogeneity of this new CRM was investigated to evaluate the suitabilit y as a RM for trace-level micro analytical techniques. Synchrotron mu -XRF, a trace-level micro analytical method, allows to quantitatively measure th e degree of heterogeneity of inorganic trace constituents in solid material s with a homogeneous matrix. The procedure for calculating the minimal samp ling mass for homogeneous measurements was employed for BCR CRM 680. By rep eating the entire procedure on several samples of the same material, the re peatability of the micro-heterogeneity characterization based on mu -XRF wa s investigated. Afterwards, the micro-heterogeneity results from the BCR CR M 680 material were used to evaluate the suitability of the micro-heterogen eity procedure by means of a Monte Carlo simulation model. Also the existen ce of nuggets in the polymer material is looked into.