Suomen ympäristökeskus

 

This document specifies requirements and recommendations for the design and execution of an interlaboratory comparison for validation of new standardized analytical methods in the field of water analysis, e.g. the number of participating laboratories and time schedules. This document is based on ISO 5725-1 and ISO 5725-2. NOTE The scope of other standards in the field of interlaboratory comparison, such as ISO/IEC 17043 and ISO 13528, is proficiency testing of analytical laboratories and not interlaboratory comparison for the validation of analytical methods.

 

This document specifies a method for the enumeration of intestinal enterococci in water. The method is based on the growth of target organisms in a liquid medium and calculation of the “Most Probable Number” (MPN) of microorganisms by reference to MPN tables or using informatic programs. The test described in this document relies upon the detection of intestinal enterococci based upon expression of the enzyme ß-D-glucosidase. This method provides a confirmed result in 24 h with no requirement for confirmation of positive wells. This method can be applied to a range of types of water (for example, drinking water, bathing water, groundwater, surface water and wastewater), including those containing an appreciable amount of suspended matter and high background counts of heterotrophic bacteria. For marine waters, enterococci are best enumerated using diluted samples.

 

This document specifies a method for the enumeration of intestinal enterococci in water, including Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus avium, Enterococcus gallinarum, Enterococcus hirae, Enterococcus casselifavus. The method is based on the growth of target organisms in a liquid medium and calculation of the “most probable number” (MPN) of microorganisms by reference to MPN tables or using suitable MPN informatic programs. This method can be applied to drinking water and bathing water (fresh or marine), together with other similar water types including those containing an appreciable amount of suspended matter, and allows the detection of enterococci at 1 colony-forming unit (CFU) per 100 ml with definitive results within (26 ± 2) h in the presence of heterotrophic bacteria in numbers as high as 1 × 106 per 100 ml of sample. For bathing waters, fresh and marine, enterococci are best enumerated when samples are diluted 1:10. The test specified in this document relies upon the detection of intestinal enterococci based upon expression of the enzyme ß-D-glucosidase and provides a confirmed result in 24 h without further testing of positive wells. This document does not apply to bottled waters, for which the method has not been validated and therefore is outside the scope of this document, unless appropriate validation of performance of this method has been undertaken by the laboratory prior to use.

 

This standard is designed for the simultaneous analysis of multi-class pesticide residues in soil using GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS analysis following extraction with acetonitrile and buffering salts mixture, and cleanup via dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE). The standard includes 30 target analytes listed in Table 1. This document can be applicable to other pesticide residues if their validity is confirmed. Under the specified conditions in this document, a limit of quantitation (LOQ) less than 0,1 mg/kg (expressed as dry matter basis) can be achieved for the target analytes (refer to Annex C).

 

This document specifies a method for quick measurement of soil temperature using an infrared (IR) thermometer. The method is applicable to a variety of technical fields, including geology, geotechnics, biology and agricultural sciences, as well as climate change studies and metrological investigation.

 

This document specifies the general requirements for the in vitro amplification of nucleic acid sequences (DNA or RNA). This includes polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods like quantitative PCR, qualitative PCR, reverse transcription-PCR and digital PCR. The minimum requirements laid down in this document are intended to ensure that comparable and reproducible results are obtained in different organizations. It covers quality assurance aspects to be considered when working with PCR-based methods in a laboratory as well as validation and verification. In addition to laboratory PCR-based methods, this document is also applicable to on-site PCR-based methods. This document is applicable to PCR-based methods used for the analysis of microorganisms and viruses in different water matrices, including but not limited to: This document is applicable to the detection and quantification of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) of microorganisms by PCR-based methods in water such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi but also parasites such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, amoebas and multicellular organisms. In addition, this document is applicable to the detection and quantification of nucleic acids from viruses in water by PCR-based methods.

 

This document specifies methods for quantitative determination of seven selected polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB28, PCB52, PCB101, PCB118, PCB138, PCB153 and PCB180) in soil, sludge, sediment, treated biowaste, and waste using GC-MS and GC-ECD (see Table 2). The limit of detection depends on the determinants, the equipment used, the quality of chemicals used for the extraction of the sample and the clean-up of the extract. Under the conditions specified in this document, lower limit of application from 1 µg/kg (expressed as dry matter) for soils, sludge and biowaste to 10 µg/kg (expressed as dry matter) for solid waste can be achieved. For some specific samples the limit of 10 µg/kg cannot be reached. Sludge, waste and treated biowaste may differ in properties, as well as in the expected contamination levels of PCB and presence of interfering substances. These differences make it impossible to describe one general procedure. This document contains decision tables based on the properties of the sample and the extraction and clean-up procedure to be used. NOTE            The analysis of PCB in insulating liquids, petroleum products, used oils and aqueous samples is referred to in EN 61619, EN 12766-1 and ISO 6468 respectively. The method can be applied to the analysis of other PCB congeners not specified in the scope, provided suitability is proven by proper in-house validation experiments.

 

This document specifies a method for the enumeration of culturable microorganisms in water by counting the colonies on a low-nutrient agar culture medium after incubation at 22 °C for 7 d. The method is intended to measure the operational efficiency of the treatment process of public drinking water supplies, including the water in distribution systems and containers. The method is particularly suitable to monitor water for human consumption which is low in nutrients and is distributed in temperatures below 20 °C. The method can be applied to all types of water, including pool and spa waters. NOTE 1 The low-nutrient agar in use in this document usually gives higher colony counts from water samples than nutrient-rich formulations of culture media typically used for enumeration of culturable microorganisms. NOTE 2 The method is also applicable for waters of very low nutrient content such as de-ionised, distilled or reverse osmosis waters. NOTE 3 This document describes the use of R2A medium. There are other formulations available, e.g. R3A medium that might be suitable for certain applications but go beyond the scope of this document.

 

This document specifies a method for the determination of selected polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE) (see Figure 1 and Table 1) in sediment, suspended particulate matter and biota using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS or GC-HRMS) in the electron impact (EI), negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) or atmospheric pressure ionization (APCI) mode. The method is applicable to sediment and suspended particulate matter samples with limits of quantification of 0,2 µg/kg dry weight (dw) for BDE-28 to BDE-183, of 2 µg/kg dry weight (dw) for BDE-209. The method is applicable as well with lower limits of quantification (LOQ), if specific clean-up methods, described in Clause 10, Table 3, method 1 and method 2 in combination with measurement methods GC-MS/MS or GC-HRMS after electron impact ionization (El) or negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) for BDE-209 are used. Depending on the analytical capability of the instrument limits of quantification down to 0,003 µg/kg dw for BDE-28 to BDE-154 and 0,02 µg/kg dw for BDE-183 and 1 µg/kg dw for BDE-209 and lower are possible. The method is applicable to biota samples with limits of quantification down to 0,000 2 µg/kg fresh weight (fw) (BDE-28 to BDE-154) and 0,03 µg/kg fresh weight (fw) (BDE-183), if specific clean-up methods, described in Table 4 in combination with measurement methods GC-MS/MS or GC-HRMS after electron impact ionization (El) are used.

 

This document specifies a method for the enumeration of culturable microorganisms in water by counting the colonies on a low-nutrient agar culture medium by spread plate inoculation after incubation at 22 °C for 7 d. The method is intended to measure the operational efficiency of the treatment process of public drinking water supplies, including the water in distribution systems and containers. The method is particularly suitable to monitor water for human consumption which is low in nutrients and is distributed in temperatures below 20 °C (Reference [1]). The method can be applied to all types of water, including pool and spa waters. The low-nutrient agar in use in this document usually gives higher colony counts from water samples than nutrient-rich formulations of culture media typically used for enumeration of culturable microorganisms (References [2], [3], [4]).

 

ISO 22032:2006 specifies a method for the determination of selected polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in sediment and sludge using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in the electron impact (EI) or negative ion chemical ionization (NCI) mode. When using GC-EI-MS, the method is applicable to samples containing 0,05 to 25 micrograms per kilogram of tetra- to octabromo congeners and 0,3 to 100 micrograms per kilogram of decabromo diphenyl ether (BDE-209), respectively.

 

This International Standard specifies a method for the determination of the genotoxic potential of water and waste water using the bacterial strains Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 in a fluctuation assay. This combination of strains is able to measure the genotoxicity of chemicals that induce point mutations (base pair substitutions and frameshift mutations) in genes coding for enzymes that are involved in the biosynthesis of the amino acid, histidine.

 

This document gives guidance on procedures for the pro-rata multi-habitat sampling of benthic macroinvertebrates in rivers and streams. The term “pro-rata” reflects the intention to sample all the main riverine habitats present at a monitoring site according to the proportion of the site that it covers. It is an objective way to divide sampling effort among the different habitats. This guidance is applicable to all flowing waters, both artificial, modified and natural. This design enables comparable samples to be collected from any type of river, regardless of the habitats present. The pro-rata multi-habitat sampling is an overall approach rather than a specific method. This document is designed to: - support environmental and conservation agencies to meet the monitoring requirements of the WFD (Article 8, Annex II, and Annex V); - generate data sets appropriate for monitoring and reporting of sites designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive ensure that samples for comparing the overall composition of invertebrates from different stream types are comparable; - ensure samples for environmental quality assessments across different stream types are comparable even when sampled by different people; and - support river management and restoration initiatives. The pro-rata multi-habitat sample (MHS) provides: - a consistent way of sampling sites that is not dependent on the presence of particular types of habitat; and - guidance on a user-friendly strategy for collecting biological data depending on the distribution of substrate type. It is also ideal for: - understanding the distribution of biological community types across different physical river types; and - quality assessments based on deviation from reference, as adopted in the European Water Framework Directive.