Soil samples SO-1, SO-2, SO-3 and SO-4 - certified reference materials

Abstract

Through the cooperation of the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANNET) and the Land Resource Research Institute of Agriculture Canada, four soil samples have been prepared as compositional reference materials: a clayey soil, a sandy podzolic B horizon with a high organic content, a calcareous till, and a chernozemic A horizon. All have a wide range of compositions. Bulk samples of 180 to 280 kg of each were dried, ground to minus 74 pm, blended, tested for homogeneity and bottled in 200-g units. Thirty-six laboratories participated in the certification program by providing analytical results for 1 to 25 constituents for each of two bottles of each sample. Based on statistical analyses of the data, the four reference samples were certified for Al, Fe, Mn, K, Zn, Cu, Cr and Pb, and one or more were certified for Si, Na, Mg, Ca, P, Ti, Hg, Ni, Sr and V. Preliminary data were obtained for another 47 elements.

Distribution of metals in soil particle size fractions and its implication to risk assessment of playgrounds in Murcia City (Spain)

“…The digest was analyzed for the contents of Al, Si, Ti, Na, P, K, Fe, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, Cr, Mn, Co, Mo and As using an inductive couple plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). Reference soils (SO-2 and SO-3) from the Canadian Certified Reference Materials Project (Bowman et al, 1979) and reagent blanks were used as the quality control samples during the analysis. The recovery of metals in the analysis was within b4.0% compared to these reference samples.…”

Identification of heavy metal sources by multivariable analysis in a typical Mediterranean city (SE Spain)

“…Heavy metal total concentration was examined, and the analyzed metals were Cr, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cd, and Ni using a nitric/perchloric acid digestion (Risser and Baker 1990) and measuring with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Reference soils (SO-3 and SO-4) from the Canadian Certified Reference Materials Project (Bowman et al 1979) and reagent blanks were used as the quality control samples during the analysis. We obtained recoveries of 116-104% for cadmium, 95-99% for chromium, 87-98% for copper, 91-98% for manganese, 87-101% for nickel, 96-97% for lead, and 107-101% for zinc.…”

Determination of geochemical background for environmental studies of soils via the use of HNO3 extraction and Q–Q plots

“…Details on ICP-MS analysis can be found in Fernandez-Turiel et al (2000). In order to check the quality of the results, the same methods were applied to the reference materials CANMET SO-1, SO-2, SO-3, SO-4 (Bowman et al 1979;CANMET 2003a, b), as well as to four replicates of a randomly selected sample. The analytical methods used, achieved precise analysis for practically all reference materials.…”