Chemical analysis of the quality of water for human consumption: Proposal for the revision of the performance requirements in the Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC

• Published in: TrAC, Trends in analytical chemistry (Regular ed.) Trends in analytical chemistry (Regular ed.), 2013-04, Vol.45, p.37-47
• Main Authors: Lucentini, Luca, Pettine, Paola, Stottmeister, Ernst, Menichini, Edoardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytical method; Chemical analysis; detection limit; Drinking water; humans; Limit of detection (LOD); Limit of quantification (LOQ); Measurement uncertainty (MU); Performance requirement; Precision; Trueness; uncertainty; Water quality; water quality analysis
• ISSN: 0165-9936; 1879-3142
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2012.12.014

► Harmonizing requirements for analytical monitoring of drinking water in Europe. ► Updating analytical requirements for laboratories monitoring drinking water in Europe. ► Experts’ proposal for laboratory performance monitoring drinking water in Europe. ► Proposal is basis for revision of European Union’s Drinking Water Directive. The following is a proposal for the revision of method-performance characteristics for the chemical analysis of water intended for human consumption under the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) 98/83/EC. According to the proposal, the EN ISO/IEC 17025 Standard should be introduced into the Directive, and the performance characteristics, measurement uncertainty (MU) and limit of quantification (LOQ) should replace or complement those currently in use (i.e. trueness, precision and limit of detection). Minimum performance characteristics for MU and LOQ are also suggested for each chemical parameter.