This report provides an overview about an inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) study on microplastics in water organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission in collaboration with the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung, BAM). The aim of this ILC was to investigate the state of the art of microplastic analysis and to support the development of microplastic reference materials. This report describes the technical details of the study, starting with the preparation and characterisation of the PET-containing test items up to the processing of the obtained data. It provides an evaluation of the measurement results produced by almost 100 participating laboratories, together with information about the methods and practices applied by the study participants. Results were evaluated in relation to the questionnaire answers provided in order to detect possible correlations. A technical workshop was held to discuss the findings with the participating laboratories.
The study gives a comprehensive picture of current methods and procedures applied in the measurement of microplastics in water. Sixteen different analysis techniques were used in this ILC, but no (group of) methods could be identified that systematically seem to give results more consistent with the indicative range of expected results than others. Furthermore, a great variety of experimental practices was applied, making it difficult to identify individual factors that significantly influenced the measurement outcome. The results of this comprehensive study provides valuable input for further harmonisation and standardisation efforts towards reliable measurement of microplastics in water and other matrices.
Belz, S., Bianchi, I., Cella, C., Emteborg, H., Fumagalli, F., Geiss, O., Gilliland, D., Held, A., Jakobsson, U., La Spina, R., Mėhn, D., Ramaye, Y., Robouch, P., Seghers, J., Sokull-Kluettgen, B., Stefaniak, E. and Stroka, J., Current status of the quantification of microplastics in water - Results of a JRC/BAM inter-laboratory comparison study on PET in water, EUR 30799 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2021, ISBN 978-92-76-40958-8, doi:10.2760/6228, JRC125383.
2021-08-31
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC125383
978-92-76-40957-1 (online) , 978-92-76-40958-8 (print)
1831-9424 (online) , 1018-5593 (print)
EUR 30799 EN , OP KJ-NA-30799-EN-N (online) , OP KJ-NA-30799-EN-C (print)
; EMTEBORG Hakan; FUMAGALLI Francesco 