Author Description

This study was designed to assess the analytical variability among laboratories contributing to the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network, a joint Canada-US effort to identify toxic airborne substances in the Great Lakes basin, quantify atmospheric loadings of these contaminants, and define spatial and temporal trends in their deposition. This report presents the procedures used and the results from an interlaboratory performance study in which each participating laboratory received a set of ampouled standards ready for direct instrumental analysis, each containing various concentrations of eight different trace metals. Results presented include mean and median concentrations measured for each parameter, standard deviation, and difference from target versus concentration in ampoule.