Evaluation of Methods Used from 1965 through 1982 to Determine Inorganic Constituents in Water Samples

摘要

Since 1962, the U.S. Geological Survey has prepared and distributed Standard Reference Water Samples (SRWS) to participating laboratories in order to alert them to possible analytical deficiencies. The report marks the first time that a concentrated effort has been made to examine and compare the SRWS data for each constituent by the analytical method that was used to obtain the data. Unlike laboratories that participate in interlaboratory studies that are designed to determine the precision and accuracy of a particular analytical method, laboratories that participate in the SRWS program are allowed to select the method used to analyze a reference sample and are requested to report the method used. Where enough information is available, models for predicting the precisions of the methods have been developed, and the precisions have been compared. In addition to the data presented in the reports, the evaluation provides a good indication of methods that were used routinely to analyze water samples during the 18 years of study.