Results of proficiency testing with regard to sediment analysis by FAAS, ICP-MS and TXRF

Three different techniques of instrumental analysis applied at ISAS were ev aluated within a proficiency test, organised by IRMM in Geel. The 3 techniq ues, in particular flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and total-reflection X-ray fluor escence (TXRF) were used for multielement trace analysis of a sediment samp le after digestion. The reported results of up to 9 elements were evaluated with respect to the reference values after the disclosure of the latter. T he relative deviations, mostly <4%. demonstrate the high accuracy of the 3 techniques. In addition, the uncertainty bars of report and reference show a high degree of overlapping, which gives evidence that the mean values are not significantly different, The high ranking of ISAS results among all 23 9 participants of the test confirms these findings. With regard to accuracy , ICP-MS and TXRF are somewhat inferior to conventional FAAS but in their f avour they are labour- and time-saving and have a good detection power.