Single element methods based on combination of NAA and column chromatography - A possible solution for obtaining highly accurate results of trace element determination in environmental and other samples

The role of Analytical Chemistry in the field of Environmental Protection and the significance of assuring high reliability of analytical results are briefly discussed. On the basis of data extracted from IAEA intercomparison runs it is shown that accuracy is still the main problem of contemporary trace analysis and that gross errors occur quite frequently. It is pointed out that there is a need for methods of proven accuracy for the determination of individual elements in certain types of matrices. Such methods would be used for checking the accuracy of routine methods, and certification of the candidate reference materials. Criteria for creating highly accurate methods based on combination of activation analysis and column chromatography are proposed. Practical implementation of these principles is illustrated on the example of determination of copper traces in several certified reference materials. (author)