1. business and industrial
2. business operations
3. management
4. project management

Date: January 29st, 2015
SEA-EU-NET 2
D3.3.1 - EU-SEA collaboration in Metrology
EU FP7 Contract Number: 311784
List and description of European Metrology Research
Projects
Deliverable Number:
Deliverable Nature:
Deliverable dissemination level:
Work Package Number:
Work Package Title:
D3.3.1
R
PU
3
EU-SEA Regional Networks in Innovation and
Research
Task Number:
T3.3
Task Title:
EU-SEA collaboration in Metrology
Submission Date:
Publication Date (Public)
Task Leading Partner:
Contributing Partners:
29.01.2015 Update:
29.01.2015, content public already before
TÜBITAK
SIRIM
WP3: EU-SEA Regional Networks in Innovation and Research - Dissemination Level: PU
Document Revision History
Version
Date
Comment
Author
First Draft
29 January 2015
Jale Sahin / TÜBITAK
Review V1.01
29 January 2015
Patrick Ziegler / DLR
Date: January 29st, 2015
SEA-EU-NET 2
D3.3.1 - EU-SEA collaboration in Metrology
Overview
This comprehensice report lists the calls for proposals of the European Metrology Research Programme
(EMRP) to give an overview on the currently ongoing efforts in this field. The SEA-EU-NET project
coordinates information sharing of ongoing activities and possibilities for mutual efforts with the
metrology research community in Southeast Asia. All listed opportunities have been disseminated to those
colleagues after their publication.
The science of measurement - metrology - is important for scientific research, industry and our everyday
lives, as the demand for measurements with high accuracies and low uncertainties continues to increase.
It is now recognised that metrology provides fundamental basis not only for the physical sciences and
engineering, but also for chemistry, the biological sciences and related areas such the environment,
medicine, agriculture and the food. Therefore, Metrology is considered a key contributor for Science &
Technology development and has a wide range of applications in Grand Societal Challenges.
The thriving economies in Southeast Asia with their ambitious effort to create an Association of Nations
(ASEAN community) in the next year can profit considerably from efforts in the field of standardization.
The European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) (2014-2020)
The EMPIR will be the successor of the EMRP 2007-2014 and be supported through the mechanism of
Article 185 with 500 Million Euro. It will concentrate on the following thematic pillars.
•
Advanced Metrology meeting the Grand Challenges Energy, Environment and Health
•
Innovation: Industrial implementation of advanced metrology for increased competitiveness
•
Exploiting and serving Basic Science related to metrology.
Year
Call
Selected Research
Topic (SRT)
number
2013
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and
Environment
2013
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and
Environment
2013
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and
Environment
2013
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and
Environment
SRT-v11
2013
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and
Environment
SRT-v12
2014
2014
2014
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and
Research Potential
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and
Research
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and
Research Potential
SRT-g01
SRT-v07
SRT-v08
SRT-r03
SRT-r06
SRT-r08
WP3: EU-SEA Regional Networks in Innovation and Research - Dissemination Level: PU
Title
Metrology infrastructure for
alternative liquid fuels
Metrology for oceanographic
observables
Sensor networks for
environmental metrology
Traceability for mercury
measurements
Metrology for “emerging”
pollutants and novel methods
in European water policy
Absorbed dose in water and air
Developing metrology research
potential in [country]
Matrix reference materials for
environmental analysis
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-g01
Version: 1.0
Title: Metrology infrastructure for alternative liquid fuels
Abstract
Limited natural resources, sustainability, and the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions require a
compositional change in liquid fuels. Biofuels are the mid-term alternative for the transport sector due to their
high energy density and established infrastructure. The production, trade, transport sectors and use of liquid
biofuels requires robust and traceable measurements which are not fully available or not in line with the rapid
developments of biofuels industry. The need is to develop robust traceable measurement of 1) origin,
identification and biogenic mass fraction, 2) relevant chemical parameters and 3) relevant physical properties
for liquid biofuels for light vehicles, heavy vehicles and aviation. These measurements are required to realise
and implement a measurement infrastructure assisting the rapidly increased use of biofuels as envisaged by
the European Commission.
Conformity with the Work Programme
This Call for JRPs conforms to the EMRP Outline 2008, section on “Grand Challenges” related to Energy
and Environment on pages 8/9 and 23/24/25.
Keywords
biodiesel, thermodynamical properties, equation of state, on-line sensor; reference material, advanced
biofuels, aviation fuel, biofuels, chemical properties, hydrogenated vegetable oil, metrology, reference methods,
reference material, origin, well to wheel.
Background to the Metrological Challenges
In order to meet the aims and objectives of Directive 2009/28/EC [1], prescribing an increased use of
renewable energy sources targeting an overall fraction of 20 % in 2020, it is necessary to have relevant
requirements for biofuels in order to promote production, trade, transport and use. The requirements should
be based on achieving the highest possible reduction of fossil CO2 in a well to wheel analysis. An area where
a future demand of liquid biofuels can be expected is aviation transport, since alternatives like electric
engines are unlikely to work in this application within the foreseeable future. The varying feedstock used for
production of biofuels has been shown to have very different impact with regard to fossil CO2 reduction.
Thus, there is both a need and a requirement to be able to assess the origin of the fuel, both regarding type
of feedstock and where it was grown.
The use of future biofuels can lead to vehicle malfunction such as engine misfiring due to clogged fuel
injectors, filter clogging and corrosion at fill stations or corrosion within the vehicle. The standard laboratory
methods as well as on-line measurements need to be adapted to all fuel types in order to become useful and
reliable. The fuel manufacturers need relevant standards to show that a new fuel will work in an actual
engine. The new properties to be tested need traceable and robust methods in order to meet the demand on
comparability of measurement. The origin of the fuel will also become increasingly important as HVO is
difficult to distinguish from petroleum diesel which invites to misuse to avoid fuel taxation.
Nowadays, many of the methods used by industry and field laboratories to evaluate the quality of biofuels to
be put on the market are strongly linked with regional standard methods and parameters are often methoddependent. EMRP JRP ENG09 “Metrology for Biofuels” developed a measurement infrastructure able to
provide reliable data and able to be rapidly adapted to the changes in type and bio-origin of biofuels.
Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) are essential tools for the quality assurance of analytical
measurements. At present, no CRMs are available on the market for blends of biofuels with conventional
EURAMET, EMRP-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
fuel, i.e. for fuel as distributed to petrol stations (and sold to the final customer). Those developed in ENG09
need to be combined with other techniques to improve reliability.
Scientific and Technological Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the JRP-Protocol.
The JRP shall focus on the traceable measurement and characterisation of biofuels.
The specific objectives are
1. To develop robust methods for assessing the origin of biofuel (raw material, production location,
biogenic mass fraction in fuel)
2. To support challenging analyses in current (e.g. EN14214) and up-coming biofuel chemical
specifications by development of robust traceable methods (e.g. oxidation stability, water
content, glycerides, free water, short chain fatty acids, hydroperoxides and major components
not yet specified like steryl glycosides)
3. To develop and validate methods (or improve their accuracy) for traceable measurements
related to physical and chemical properties of liquid biofuels (e.g. calorific value, vapour
pressure, heat capacity, heat of vaporization, speed of sound, surface tension, water separation
properties, filtration properties, and deposition properties of biofuel on hot surfaces)
4. To reduce the uncertainty in the determination of the density-temperature relationship and to
develop equations of state with improved accuracy
5. To develop methods for monitoring the quality of biofuels, by means of new sensor technology
for on-line traceable measurements, of e.g. water content, conductivity, oxidation stability, and
hydroperoxide content.
These objectives will require large-scale approaches that are beyond the capabilities of single National
Metrology Institutes and Designated Institutes. To enhance the impact of the R&D work, the involvement of
the user community such as industry, and standardisation and regulatory bodies, as appropriate, is strongly
recommended.
Proposers should establish the current state of the art, and explain how their proposed project goes beyond
this. In particular, proposers should outline the achievements of the EMRP project ENG09 and how their
proposal will build on those.
EURAMET expects the average size of JRPs in this call to be between 3.0 to 3.5 M€, and defined an upper
limit of 5 M€ for any project. The available budget for integral Research Excellence Grants is 30 months of
effort.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community. This
may be through the inclusion of unfunded JRP partners or collaborators, or by including links to
industrial/policy advisory committees, standards committees or other bodies. Evidence of support from the
“end user” community (eg letters of support) is encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
•
feed into the development of urgent documentary standards through appropriate standards bodies
•
transfer knowledge to the biofuels sector.
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as detailed in the document “Guide 4: Writing a Joint
Research Project”
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of the EMRP to
develop a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and includes the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
SRT-g01.doc
-2-
•
•
•
improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and
to assure the traceability of national standards
the metrology capacity of Member States and countries associated with the Seventh Framework
Programme whose metrology programmes are at an early stage of development to be increased
outside researchers & research organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
Additional information
The references were provided by PRT submitters; proposers should therefore establish the relevance of any
references.
[1]
Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the
promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing
directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC.
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
SRT-g01.doc
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EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-v07
Version: 1.0
Title: Metrology for oceanographic observables
Abstract
The ocean is a key factor in climate change as it acts as the main global storage and transport system for
heat and gases. Seawater is the largest buffer for anthropogenic CO2: causing ocean acidification and
damage to the marine ecosystem. High quality data on thermodynamic and chemical properties of seawater
is required to understand fully relevant oceanic parameters which in turn allow accurate modelling and
assessment of climate change. This must be underpinned by advanced metrology for relevant ocean
variables, including salinity-density-refractive index and pressure-speed of sound relationships, and pH
affected chemical equilibria in the carbonate system. New calibration procedures and guidelines for in-field
sensors will also be required.
Conformity with the Work Programme
This Call for JRPs conforms to the EMRP Outline 2008, section on “Grand Challenges” related to Energy
and Environment on pages 23 and 24.
Keywords
Seawater, Salinity, Density, Refractive Index, Speed of Sound, pH, CO2 Content, Dissolved Oxygen, Nutrients,
On-line Sensors, Oceanic Parameters, Temperature, Ocean Acidity
Background to the Metrological Challenges
The Earth's climate is changing in ways that affect our weather, oceans, ecosystems, and society. Climate
change and ocean acidification are threatening food security and biodiversity. Ocean and climate are closely
related, the condition of one strongly affecting the other. Moreover, ocean salinity changes are a sensitive
proxy for a number of climate change processes such as precipitation, evaporation, river run-off and ice melt.
Reliable data on the properties and status of the Earth’s oceans is therefore a key factor in the modelling of
climate change, the global water cycle, the propagation of ocean acidification and deoxygenation to the
ocean interior and assessments for the future of aquaculture and fisheries. The need for improved
monitoring of the marine environment and sound databases for the modelling of global change processes is
highlighted in various documents. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC [1] directly
addresses the necessity of achieving a healthy marine environment and of having profound measuring
systems to monitor the ocean’s status.
The thermodynamic parameters salinity-density-refractive index and pressure-speed of sound are key
parameters for the monitoring and modelling of the ocean currents, its heat uptake, and increases in sea
level. In the current EMRP JRP-ENV05 “Metrology for ocean salinity and acidity” basic relationships are
being measured by methods traceable to the SI. But there is still a lack of traceability for measurement
devices in the field, especially for most on-line measuring devices. Calibration and handling procedures at all
measurement stages are required, including the on-line measuring devices used in field. This includes
guidelines and recommendations for measuring procedures and reference materials.
Carbonate system variables (e.g. total alkalinity (TA), total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), carbon dioxide
fugacity (fCO2), and pH) are linked via equilibrium thermodynamics. Thus, these parameters can be either
measured directly or calculated by means of other parameters. Differences between measured and
calculated parameters may be significant when compared to current uncertainties of analytical
measurements. Several reasons have been identified for the lack of reliability of the thermodynamic
constants:
EURAMET, EMRP-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
•
pH has multiple definitions which can result in multiple values for acid-dissociation constants.
•
Different measurement methods are used, which lack metrological traceability. Discrepancies in
measurement results and hence comparability problems are a common consequence.
•
Dissociation constants reliable for artificial seawater are not appropriate for real seawater.
Scientific and Technological Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the JRP-Protocol.
The JRP shall focus on the traceable measurement and characterisation of thermodynamic and chemical
properties of seawater.
The specific objectives are
1.
To develop a metrological platform for field measurements of the following thermodynamic
parameters: salinity, density, refractive index and speed of sound measurements, and that
allows for the derivation of relationships for salinity-density-refractive index and speed of
sound-pressure with reduced uncertainties.
2.
To develop a metrological platform for chemical parameters that provides a robust basis for
study of the carbonate system and its pH dependency in the marine environment. This
should lead to a quantification of equilibrium thermodynamics and dissociation constants of
carbonic acid in seawater.
3.
To develop standards and simplified calibration methods for sum parameters such as
dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved oxygen (DO)
and alkaline macro nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as traceable calibration
methods and uncertainty estimation for measuring macro nutrients like nitrogen and
phosphorus and micro-nutrients like iron.
4.
To undertake chemical analysis of the variable seawater constituents (carbonate system and
macro nutrients).
These objectives will require large-scale approaches that are beyond the capabilities of single National
Metrology Institutes and Designated Institutes. To enhance the impact of the R&D work, the involvement of
the user community such as industry, and standardisation and regulatory bodies, as appropriate, is strongly
recommended.
Proposers should establish the current state of the art, and explain how their proposed project goes beyond
this. In particular, proposers should outline the achievements of the EMRP project ENV05 “Metrology for
ocean salinity and acidity” and how their proposal will build on those.
EURAMET expects the average size of JRPs in this call to be between 3.0 to 3.5 M€, and has defined an
upper limit of 5 M€ for any project. The available budget for integral Research Excellence Grants is 30
months of effort.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community. This
may be through the inclusion of unfunded JRP partners or collaborators, or by including links to
industrial/policy advisory committees, standards committees or other bodies. Evidence of support from the
“end user” community (e.g. letters of support) is encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
•
underpin and develop European and international regulation or feed into the development of urgent
documentary standards through appropriate standards bodies, respectively.
•
transfer knowledge to the oceanographic and marine sector.
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as detailed in the document “Guide 4: Writing a Joint
Research Project”
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
SRT-v07.docx
-2-
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of the EMRP to
develop a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and includes the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
•
improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and
to assure the traceability of national standards.
•
the metrology capacity of Member States and countries associated with the Seventh Framework
Programme whose metrology programmes are at an early stage of development to be increased.
•
outside researchers & research organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work.
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
Additional information
The references were provided by PRT submitters; proposers should therefore establish the relevance of any
references.
[1]
Directive 2008/56/EC: Establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine
environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive)
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
SRT-v07.docx
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EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-v08
Version: 1.0
Title: Sensor networks for environmental metrology
Abstract
The current metrology paradigm of standards, calibration and traceability chains is designed for the
measurement of single, discrete quantities, e.g., the length of an artefact. However, much of environmental
measurement necessarily involves networks of sensors measuring a number of different quantities at several
locations with a range of accuracies. The sensor information must then be combined to make inferences at
an arbitrary location or aggregated over a region. It is essential to extend the metrology paradigm to sensor
networks for environmental monitoring to validate the new paradigm on existing or planned networks.
Conformity with the Work Programme
This Call for JRPs conforms to the EMRP Outline 2008, section on “Grand Challenges” related to Energy
and Environment on pages 8/9 and 23/24/25.
Keywords
Sensor networks, uncertainty, traceability, calibration, design of experiment, resilience, information gain, data
fusion, data assimilation
Background to the Metrological Challenges
EU directives on environment and climate change such as the Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air for
Europe [1] and the Marine Strategic Framework Directive [2] relate to managing aggregated measurements
of environmental variables to bring about improvements over time. No single instrument can deliver data to
determine if environmental regulatory limits are being met. Instead, environmental monitoring necessarily
involves a network of instruments sampling at discrete locations at discrete times: sensor networks.
Independent of the characteristic being measured (for example air pollutant levels, acoustic noise, or sea
water salinity), measurements at particular spatial and time locations are used to make inferences at other
individual spatial and time locations or are aggregated to make inferences over a region or time period. The
quality of the inferences made will depend on how well the network is designed and how the sensor data is
used. At the moment, the quality of the inferences is severely limited by the lack of a methodology for
uncertainty evaluation applicable to sensor networks.
Current practice treats the sensors as independent individual instruments, so that calibration strategies, for
example, are determined without any reference to other sensors in the network. Many existing environmental
JRPs focus on the need to make sure that individual sensor measurement results are traceable to standard
units. However, decisions are not made on the basis of a result of a single sensor reading but on the basis of
a complex aggregation of the sensor data to estimate key environmental variables. This aggregation is
sometimes referred to as the transformation of “data to knowledge”. The value of a sensor network is judged
on the value of the knowledge generated from the sensor data. It is important to ensure that traceability and
uncertainty can be applied to the knowledge derived from sensor network data.
The recent advances in mathematical and statistical modelling associated with variables subject to spatial
and/or temporal correlation, are possible approaches to convert sensor networks into distributed metrology
systems in which concepts such as traceability, uncertainty and calibration can be interpreted correctly.
Gaussian process models can be used to describe environmental variables that exhibit a spatio-temporal
correlation: the values of a variable at nearby locations and times will be similar. This correlation structure is
valuable prior information that can reduce uncertainties in the estimates of the variables since the estimate
can take into account neighbouring measurements. Sensor data can be assimilated with meteorological
models, models of atmospheric chemistry, etc., to provide enhanced estimates that benefit from the model
predictions as well as the measured data. Ensemble Kalman filter techniques can be used to implement data
EURAMET, EMRP-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
assimilation in a computationally efficient scheme. These algorithms developed primarily for weather
forecasting could be very effective in applying data assimilation methods to environmental monitoring.
Wired and wireless communications allow data arising from a sensor network to be sent to a data centre to
be analysed. Statistical/machine learning algorithms and other data fusion algorithms, implemented on a
cloud computing platform, can then be applied to provide enhanced model of the system, in particular,
separating out the effect of environmental influence factors on sensor performance from the values of the
environmental variables under study.
Scientific and Technological Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the JRP-Protocol.
The JRP shall focus on the traceable measurement and characterisation of sensor networks in
environmental monitoring.
The specific objectives are:
1. To develop generic tools to support sensor networks in three broad areas
i)
mathematical and statistical modelling
ii)
(wireless) communications
iii) ICT and informatics
2. To ensure that sensor networks give traceable measurements by extending current metrological
practice, in particular, defining the appropriate concepts for;
i)
definition of a measurand associated with a network
ii)
uncertainty associated with a network
iii) calibration of a network, including in situ calibration
3. To optimise network design and operation to maximise the information gain from sensor networks
used in environmental monitoring.
Any proposal against this SRT should contain explicit application of the generic tools and concepts to
develop more than one environmental monitoring or energy distribution network, and deliverables
demonstrating the benefit gained by that network.
These objectives will require large-scale approaches that are beyond the capabilities of single National
Metrology Institutes and Designated Institutes. To enhance the impact of the R&D work, the involvement of
the user community such as industry, and standardisation and regulatory bodies, as appropriate, is strongly
recommended.
Proposers should establish the current state of the art, and explain how their proposed project goes beyond
this. In particular, proposers should outline the achievements of the EMRP project NEW04 ‘Novel
mathematical and statistical approaches to uncertainty evaluation’ and how their proposal will build on those.
EURAMET expects the average size of JRPs in this call to be between 3.0 to 3.5 M€, and has defined an
upper limit of 5 M€ for any project. Any proposal received for this SRT is expected to be significantly below
3.0 M€. The available budget for integral Research Excellence Grants is 30 months of effort.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community. This
may be through the inclusion of unfunded JRP-Partners or collaborators, or by including links to
industrial/policy advisory committees, standards committees or other bodies. Evidence of support from the
“end user” community (eg letters of support) is encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
• feed into the development of urgent documentary standards through appropriate standards bodies
• transfer knowledge to the environmental sector.
• provide a common platform to allow correlations to be established across many environmental
domains
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
SRT-v08.doc
-2-
•
will develop, capture and promote best practice in measurement and data analysis in environmental
metrology
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as detailed in the document “Guide 4: Writing a Joint
Research Project”
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of the EMRP to
develop a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and includes the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
• improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and to
assure the traceability of national standards
• the metrology capacity of Member States and countries associated with the Seventh Framework
Programme whose metrology programmes are at an early stage of development to be increased
• outside researchers & research organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
Additional information
The references were provided by PRT submitters; proposers should therefore establish the relevance of any
references.
[1]
DIRECTIVE 2008/50/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 May
2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe
[2]
DIRECTIVE 2008/56/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 17 June
2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy
(Marine Strategy Framework Directive)
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
SRT-v08.doc
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EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-v11
Version: 1.0
Title: Traceability for mercury measurements
Abstract
Pollution by mercury is a major global, regional and national challenge as it threatens human health and the
environment. The main threat is to pregnant women, babies and marine mammals that eat contaminated
fish. In Europe, member states are obliged to terminate existing discharge, emissions and losses of Hg.
Mercury is reactive, difficult to store and handle, and extremely difficult to measure as it easily
disappears/adsorbs in e.g. sample containers even before the measurement analysis has been carried out.
A calibration infrastructure needs to be realised and implemented, a metrological in-line measurement
method developed, a speciation analysis performed - including the development and metrological validation
of multi-collector ICP-MS methods to determine if isotopic signatures can be assigned to different sources of
mercury, an understanding of mercury migration and transformation artefacts (e.g. using historical samples
from environmental specimen banks) developed, and traceable measurements for emerging requirements in
mercury science provided. This will support the requirements of national and international legislation (e.g. the
UNEP Minamata Convention on Mercury), which aims at controlling mercury emissions and releases.
Conformity with the Work Programme
This Call for JRPs conforms to the EMRP Outline 2008, section on “Grand Challenges” related to Energy
and Environment on pages 8, 9 and 24.
Keywords
Mercury, metals, speciation, emission, fuels, traceability, comparability, isotope ratio measurements,
sensors, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), mass independent fractionation, mass dependent fractionation,
MC ICP-MS, environmental specimen banks
Background to the Metrological Challenges
Due to its toxicity, the use of mercury is being phased out and/or limited to less than 1000 mg/kg in products.
Mercury is a global contaminant that enters the environment from natural sources, historical burden in soil
and sediments, and from industry. Today the main source is likely from coal-fired power plants, but a
scientifically litigable proof is missing. In the UNEP 2013 document “Global Mercury Assessment” the global
emissions to air from anthropogenic sources were estimated at 1960 tonnes (2010) with a large uncertainty
of 1010 to 4070 tonnes. Mercury is also entering the environment by other means in unknown amounts.
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is aiming to develop a global observation system for mercury in
support of the goals of GEOSS etc. While the WMO's Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) have established
data centres and quality control programs to enhance integration of air quality measurements from different
national and regional networks. Similarly, the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry project has
strongly endorsed the need for international exchange of calibration standards.
Some NMIs have developed capabilities for the measurement of mercury, but this does not extend to
environmental measurement. This capability has been limited to providing non-matrix specific monoelemental mercury reference materials. Consequently, at the moment it is not possible to defensibly assess
mercury at relevant concentrations in European directives (Directive 2004/107/EC, Art. 3; Directive
2010/75/EU), because of a lack of underpinning traceability and validated methodologies for low
concentrations and for different mercury species. Also the written standards EN-15852 and EN-15853 and
the US EPA’s methods 30A and 30B need a metrological backbone. The Directive 2008/105/EC requires
that all Member States monitor the environmental concentrations of Priority Hazardous Substances (PHS)
and report to the EC whether national waters meet Environmental Quality Standards (EQS), or not. The EQS
EURAMET, EMRP-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
for mercury will be measured in prey tissue to account for food web magnification. European Member States
are legally obliged to progressively reduce discharges, emissions and losses of PHS to zero within 20 years.
Mercury levels in water bodies across Europe exceed the EQS and are unlikely to meet targets. A number of
mercury-related standardisation mandates have been prepared M/036, M/360 and M/232 [1, 2, 3] to address
these issues.
Mercury pollution has traditionally been monitored by measuring the concentrations of Hg species in
inorganic and organic matrices. MC-ICPMS now allows small differences in Hg isotope abundances to be
measured in environmental abiotic and biotic matrices. Also, the direct identification of different isotopic
signatures of different Hg species is now possible within the same sample (these may have a completely
different biogeochemistry history). This technique can help to track the transport and fate of mercury in the
environment. Various geologic and environmental matrices are being characterised to inventory the isotope
signatures of different source materials, and to document the ranges in Hg mass dependent fractionation
(MDF) and mass independent fractionation (MIDF) in materials around the globe. Gradients in Hg
concentrations and isotope signatures have been shown to be associated with Hg point sources. To improve
the utility of isotopic source apportionment the data inventories of Hg MDF and MIDF values need to be
expanded and improved for a variety of sample types and locations. Such robust, defensible and traceable
measurements of mercury are needed to underpin the global effort to reduce the concentration of mercury in
the environment, meet the obligations of legislation and to protect human health.
Highly reliable environmental samples are needed that document different contamination levels and patterns.
There are 14 Environmental specimen banks (ESBs) in Europe, which contain cryo-archived samples from
marine, limnic and terrestrial environments that provide authentic records of industrial contamination of air,
soil and water. The mercury levels recorded in these samples will enable high quality assessment and
metrological validation.
Scientific and Technological Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the JRP-Protocol.
The JRP shall focus on the traceable measurement and characterisation of mercury.
The specific objectives are
1.
To realise and implement a calibration infrastructure, built upon traceable primary standards,
enabling the defensible and traceable assessment of mercury thresholds specified in
European legislation and as part of the global mercury observing system.
2.
To develop a metrological in-line measurement method for continuous and semi-continuous
Hgo and Hg(II) measurement in (harsh) matrices like stationary source emissions or liquid
media, including the use of sensor technology.
3.
To perform a speciation analysis of mercury across all environmental compartments (e.g.
water, soil, flue gases, biogas, biota and solids), aiming at minimising species
interconversion post-sampling. This should include the development and metrological
validation of multi-collector ICP-MS methods for measuring mass dependent fractionation
and mass independent fractionation of mercury isotopes. It should then be determined if
isotopic signatures can be assigned to different sources of mercury.
4.
To understand mercury migration and transformation artefacts associated with e.g. changing
environmental conditions (i.e. historical samples from environmental specimen banks should
be used), in order to develop robust methods for (representative) sampling, filtration,
preservation and storage.
5.
To provide traceable measurements for emerging requirements in mercury science such as
the evaluation of mercury concentrations in indoor air from the use of mercury containing
compact fluorescent lamps.
These objectives will require large-scale approaches that are beyond the capabilities of single National
Metrology Institutes and Designated Institutes. To enhance the impact of the R&D work, the involvement of
the user community such as industry, and standardisation and regulatory bodies, as appropriate, is strongly
recommended.
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
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Proposers should establish the current state of the art, and explain how their proposed project goes beyond
this and EMRP JRP ENV02 (PartEmission) ‘Emerging requirements for measuring pollutants from
automotive exhaust emissions’ with regards to the measurement of mercury.
EURAMET expects the average size of JRPs in this call to be between 3.0 to 3.5 M€, and has defined an
upper limit of 5 M€ for any project. The available budget for integral Research Excellence Grants is 30
months of effort.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community. This
may be through the inclusion of unfunded JRP partners or collaborators, or by including links to
industrial/policy advisory committees, standards committees or other bodies. Evidence of support from the
“end user” community (eg letters of support) is encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
•
feed into the development of urgent documentary standards through appropriate standards bodies
•
transfer knowledge to enable the traceable measurement and characterisation of mercury
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as detailed in the document “Guide 4: Writing a Joint
Research Project”
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of the EMRP to
develop a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and includes the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
•
improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and
to assure the traceability of national standards
•
the metrology capacity of Member States and countries associated with the Seventh Framework
Programme whose metrology programmes are at an early stage of development to be increased
•
outside researchers & research organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
Additional information
The references were provided by PRT submitters; proposers should therefore establish the relevance of any
references.
[1]
EC Mandate M/036, Standardisation mandate to CEN for a manual reference method for the
calibration of automated measurement systems for total mercury emissions into the air and main
performance characteristics of the automated measurement systems.
[2]
EC Mandate M/360, Standardisation mandate to CEN for standard measuring methods for the
determination of total gaseous mercury in ambient air and the total deposition of mercury.
[3]
EC Mandate M/232, Standardisation mandate to CEN for the determination of the total emission of
some heavy metals and metalloids to the air.
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
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EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-v12
Version: 1.0
Title: Metrology for “emerging” pollutants and novel methods
in European water policy
Abstract
Comparable chemical and biological measurements in Europe are a requirement of the European
Commission in the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, QA/QC Directive 2009/90/EC, Marine Strategy
Framework Directive 2008/56/EC and Mandate M/424. However, such measurements can only be achieved
with traceable reference measurement standards. In addition, validated field and laboratory methodologies
able to provide accurate, representative and comparable measurements are needed to support monitoring
and decision making. Further to this, in coastal and marine waters, traditional sampling based on spot
samples is ineffective in providing meaningful environmental concentrations. Passive samplers could provide
an alternate technique, but the metrological validation of these devices is, as yet, unproven.
Conformity with the Work Programme
This Call for JRPs conforms to the EMRP Outline 2008, section on “Grand Challenges” related to Energy
and Environment on pages 8, 9, 24 and 25.
Keywords
Water Framework Directive (WFD); Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD); QA/QC Directive;
chemical and biological monitoring; on-line monitoring; coastal and marine waters sampling; metrological
traceability; standard operating procedure; reference materials.
Background to the Metrological Challenges
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) specifies the ‘need to ensure comparability of assessment
approaches and methods within and between marine regions and/or subregions’ and the ‘need to develop
technical specifications and standardised methods for monitoring at Community level so as to allow
comparability of information’. Similarly, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to achieve
good environmental status by 2020. As data measurements are the basis of the overall decision-making
process the WFD and MSFD have been linked with complementary directives on Quality Assurance and
Quality Control (QA/QC). The QA/QC Directive 2009/90/EC states that ‘in order to fulfil validation
requirements, all methods of analysis applied by Member States for the purposes of chemical monitoring
programmes of water status should meet certain minimum performance criteria, including rules on the
uncertainty of measurements and on the limit of quantification of the methods.
In the context of the WFD and MSFD, chemical monitoring relies on the accuracy of successive steps:
sampling, sample storage and preservation and pre-treatment, calibration, measurement, analysis of results,
uncertainty estimation and final conclusions, and the comparability of results between laboratory and field
measurements. However, the recommendations of the Chemical Monitoring and Emerging Pollutant working
group E on chemical aspects under the Common Implementation Strategy of the WFD highlight the need for
‘for new analytical and alternative detection methods to increase efficiency and decrease costs of chemical
monitoring’; ‘organisation of targeted laboratory inter-comparisons, provision of suitable reference materials
and other tools of QC on the basis of the main standards (e.g. ISO 13528:2005) and guidelines and finally
‘comparability of compliance checking in the presence of measurement uncertainty’.
EURAMET, EMRP-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
Scientific and Technological Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the JRP-Protocol.
The JRP shall focus on the traceable measurement, comparability, accuracy and reliability of WFD
measurements as described by the QA/QC directive 2009/90/EC.
The specific objectives are
1.
Calibration of passive sampling devices in coastal and marine waters as well as production
of SOP for their use. Sample preparation and detection techniques for the analysis of priority
substances using multi-residue analysis and multi-technique approaches (e.g. C-MS/MS,
LC-MS/MS, ICP-MS) should also be considered.
2.
To develop metrological infrastructure for the accurate measurement of WFD priority
substances in water and biota. Measurements should be traceable to the SI and include
uncertainty analyses and purity assessment of targeted compound, development of
reference methods and measurements on whole water samples.
3.
Assessment of currently available matrix certified reference material and development of
commutable matrix reference materials representative of European surface water species.
4.
To develop the metrological system for accurate monitoring at ultra-low trace levels of
contamination, beyond those required in the WFD. Focus should be on parameters such as
priority pollutants (e.g. PAH, PBDE, metals) and ecological status (e.g. nutrients, turbidity).
5.
Development of metrological infrastructure for the accurate and to the SI traceable
determination of microbes (including pathogens) and key “stress-related” biomarkers present
in an aquatic sample used as an indicator of good water quality. This should include the
development of standardised procedures for in vitro microorganism-based assays.
These objectives will require large-scale approaches that are beyond the capabilities of single National
Metrology Institutes and Designated Institutes. To enhance the impact of the R&D work, the involvement of
the user community such as industry, and standardisation and regulatory bodies, as appropriate, is strongly
recommended.
Proposers should establish the current state of the art, and explain how their proposed project goes beyond
this and EMRP JRP ENV08 WFD ‘Traceable measurements for monitoring critical pollutants under the
European Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60/EC)’.
EURAMET expects the average size of JRPs in this call to be between 3.0 to 3.5 M€, and has defined an
upper limit of 5 M€ for any project. The available budget for integral Research Excellence Grants is 30
months of effort.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community. This
may be through the inclusion of unfunded JRP partners or collaborators, or by including links to
industrial/policy advisory committees, standards committees or other bodies. Evidence of support from the
“end user” community (eg letters of support) is encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
•
feed into the development of urgent documentary standards through appropriate standards bodies
•
transfer knowledge to the environmental sector.
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as detailed in the document “Guide 4: Writing a Joint
Research Project”
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of the EMRP to
develop a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and includes the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
•
improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and
to assure the traceability of national standards
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
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•
•
the metrology capacity of Member States and countries associated with the Seventh Framework
Programme whose metrology programmes are at an early stage of development to be increased
outside researchers & research organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
Additional information
The references were provided by PRT submitters; proposers should therefore establish the relevance of any
references.
[1]
Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC
[2]
QA/QC Directive 2009/90/EC
[3]
Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC
[4]
Mandate M/424 Mandate for standardization addressed to CEN for the development or improvement
of standards in support of the Water Framework Directive
[5]
ISO 13528:2005 Statistical methods for use in proficiency testing by interlaboratory comparisons
EMRP Call 2013 – Energy and Environment
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EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-r03
Version: 1.0
Title: Absorbed dose in water and air
Abstract
Radiation dosimetry underpins much of the radiotherapy treatment or diagnostics of patients and the
radiological protection of the environment. For example on average in Europe there is one radio diagnostic
examination per person and per year. The availability of reliable and traceable measurement facilities for the
dissemination of the dosimetric units to the network of secondary standard dosimetry laboratories (SSDLs) is
therefore an important factor. Graphite cavity chambers can be used for the measurement of air kerma rates
of gamma ray sources for photon energies such as those of 60Co and 137Cs, free air chambers can be used
for the measurement air kerma for low or medium X-ray energies and water calorimeters for the
measurement of absorbed dose to water.
This topic is focused on enhancing the availability of radiological dosimetry facilities and research capability
at NMIs/DIs within countries or regions in Europe where access to these types of facilities is currently limited.
Keywords
Radiation dosimetry, graphite cavity chambers, free air chambers, calorimeters, air kerma, absorbed dose to
water, capacity building
Background to the Metrological Challenges
The international framework of traceability for radiation dosimetry quantities [1] ensures confidence in the
equivalence of patient treatment regimes as required in international clinical trials for radiotherapy but also
for fields as diverse as industrial processing, diagnostic medicine and radiation protection. The framework
relies on some twenty countries with primary standard dosimetry laboratories (PSDLs) which validate their
standards against each other through comparisons organised by the BIPM and then disseminate the SI for
air kerma and for absorbed dose to water in terms of the gray (Gy), the special name designated for J/kg.
The primary standards are usually free-air ionisation chambers for low and medium energy x-ray beams,
cavity ionisation chambers for gamma beams and either graphite or water calorimeters for high-energy
photon beams. A network of secondary standard dosimetry laboratories (SSDLs), established by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), ensure that
standards traceable to the PSDLs (and hence the SI) are disseminated as widely as possible.
An NMI or DI wishing to establish a research capacity in this area would do so through the design,
construction and validation of their own ionisation chambers and calorimeters. The design would build on the
experience of more developed NMIs, using their expertise to optimise the design for the particular needs of
that country. The validation process would involve the establishing NMI participating in comparisons and
analysis of uncertainties with others establishing similar facilities and those with long established facilities.
The whole process would result in both the development of a facility, the development of the relevant staff
and the development of relationships between the establishing NMI and more experienced researchers in
the field which would foster further joint research activities beyond the life of the project.
Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the proposal.
The JRP shall focus on the development of metrological research capacity in radiation dosimetry.
EURAMET-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
The specific objectives are
1.
To design, construct and validate graphite cavity chambers for those participating NMIs and
DIs seeking to establish a research capability in measuring the air kerma for photon energies
such as those of 60Co and 137Cs.
2.
To design, construct and validate free air chambers for those participating NMIs and DIs
seeking to establish a research capability in measuring the air kerma for low or medium
X-ray energies.
3.
To design, construct and validate calorimeters for those participating NMIs and DIs seeking
to establish a research capability in measuring absorbed dose to water for high energy
photon beams such as those produced by clinical accelerators.
4.
For each participant to develop an individual strategy for the long-term development of their
research capability in radiation dosimetry including priorities for collaborations with the
research community in their country, the establishment of appropriate quality schemes and
accreditation (e.g. participation in key comparisons, the entry of CMCs into the BIPM
database, accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025). They should also develop a strategy for offering
calibration services from the established facilities to their own country and neighbouring
countries. The individual strategies should be discussed within the consortium and with other
EURAMET NMIs/DIs, to ensure that a coordinated and optimised approach to the
development of traceability in this field is developed for Europe as a whole.
Proposers shall give priority to work that meets documented metrological needs and activities that will lead to
an improvement in European metrological capability and infrastructure beyond the lifetime of the project.
Proposers should establish the relevant current capability for research, and explain how their proposed
project will develop capability beyond this.
EURAMET has defined an upper limit of 500 k€ for the EU Contribution to any project in this TP, and a
minimum of 100 k€.
EURAMET also expects the EU Contribution to the external funded partners to not exceed 10 % of the total
EU Contribution to the project. Any deviation from this must be justified.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community,
describing how the project partners will engage with relevant communities during the project to facilitate
knowledge transfer and accelerate the uptake of project outputs. Evidence of support from the “end user”
community (e.g. letters of support) is also encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
• Address the SRT objectives and deliver solutions to the documented needs,
• Provide a lasting improvement in the European metrological capability and infrastructure beyond the
lifetime of the project,
• Facilitate improved industrial capability or improved quality of life for European citizens in terms of
personal health or protection of the environment,
• Transfer knowledge to the clinical and radiation protection sector and the metrology community.
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as specified in the document “Guide 4: Writing a Joint
Research Project”.
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of EMPIR to develop
a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and include the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
•
improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and
to assure the traceability of national standards
•
the metrology capacity of EURAMET Member States whose metrology programmes are at an early
stage of development to be increased
•
organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
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Additional information
The references were provided by PRT submitters; proposers should therefore establish the relevance of any
references.
[1]
Metrologia 46 (2009) S1- S8
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
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EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-r06
Version: 1.0
Title: Developing metrology research potential in [country]
Abstract
Social advantages and economic competitiveness in modern society are supported by an effective national
measurement system which is a generally recognised instrument in providing reliable measurement results
traceable to the units of SI. Within Europe there is diversity in the size, capabilities, experience and age of
the National Metrology Institutes and associated Designated Institutes.
This SRT focuses on a generic type of project aiming to establish metrology research potential in emerging
NMIs or DIs of a specific country and more than one proposal submitted in response to this SRT may be
funded.
Keywords
National metrology strategy, metrology research potential, capacity building
Background to the Metrological Challenges
In order to respond to an existing capability gap in emerging EURAMET member countries and regions,
Research Potential Projects (RPOTs) have been included within EMPIR for the development of the potential
for metrology research of the participating organisations, which will subsequently provide input to other
aspects of technology transfer, innovation, regulation and all other aspects of research. The overall strategic
aim of these metrology capacity-building activities, which may be based on a particular technological area or
may address multiple fields, is to achieve a balanced and integrated metrology system in the participating
states, enabling them to develop their scientific and technical capabilities in metrology. Proposals should
address clearly identified metrological needs, be research-oriented and might include the facilitation or
establishment of smart specialisation. Competitive metrology capabilities affect all other aspects of the
technical quality infrastructure of the participating NMIs and DIs, therefore directly contributing to increased
European economic welfare.
EURAMET has identified the following preconditions and strategic goals associated with this type of project.
They reflect the overall objective to develop an efficient, demand-oriented and coherent European landscape
of metrology research and service capabilities.
1.
Sustainability: existence of a national strategy, a procurement plan for metrology capabilities or
recent investments in equipment such as through structural funds or other international funding
agencies, demonstrating the long-term commitment of the country to provide the necessary
resources.
2.
European dimension: contribution of the project to the European coherence in metrology
research and service capabilities, not only including the benefit for the emerging NMIs or DIs but
also the impact on countries of similar size or at a similar level of development.
An NMI or DI wishing to establish a research capacity would do so through the design, construction and
validation of their facility or techniques. The design would build on the experience of more developed NMIs,
using their expertise to optimise the design for the particular needs of that country. The validation process
would involve the establishing NMI in comparisons and analysis of uncertainties with others establishing
similar facilities/techniques and those with long established facilities/techniques. The whole process would
result in both the development of a facility or technique, the development of the relevant staff and the
development of relationships between the establishing NMI and more experienced researchers in the field
which would foster further joint research activities beyond the life of the project.
This SRT addresses a generic type of project aiming to establish metrology research potential in emerging
NMIs or DIs of a specific country. It is thematically open, i.e. it is possible to address one or more thematic
areas. Proposals from different countries within Europe are expected in response to this SRT and more than
one proposal could be funded.
EURAMET-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the proposal.
The JRP shall focus on the development of metrological capacity in the technical field(s) identified as a
priority in an individual country.
The specific objectives are:
1. To develop measurement methods in technological fields which are prioritised according to the
national strategy for the NMIs and Dis in an individual country, and which make use of existing
equipment or equipment that will shortly be available.
2. To intercompare the methods developed in the JRP with existing techniques/methods within the
European metrology community.
3. To develop a strategy for the long-term development of research capability in the relevant technical
field(s), including priorities for collaborations with the research community in that country, the
establishment of appropriate quality schemes and accreditation (e.g. participation in key
comparisons, the entry of CMCs into the BIPM database, accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025).
4. To also develop a strategy for offering calibration services from the established facilities to that
country and others (smart specialisation). The individual strategy should be discussed within the
consortium and with other EURAMET NMIs/DIs, to ensure that a coordinated and optimised
approach to the development of traceability in these fields is developed for Europe as a whole.
5. To establish co-operation between NMIs and universities or research organisations to enable
efficient use of existing metrology and academic/research competence and limited resources in the
development of measurement methods and metrology services.
Proposers shall give priority to work that meets documented metrological needs and activities that will lead to
an improvement in European metrological capability and infrastructure beyond the lifetime of the project.
Proposers should establish the relevant current capability for research, and explain how their proposed
project will develop capability beyond this.
EURAMET has defined an upper limit of 500 k€ for the EU Contribution to any project in this TP, and a
minimum of 100 k€.
EURAMET also expects the EU Contribution to the external funded partners to not exceed 10 % of the total
EU Contribution to the project. Any deviation from this must be justified.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community,
describing how the project partners will engage with relevant communities during the project to facilitate
knowledge transfer and accelerate the uptake of project outputs. Evidence of support from the “end user”
community (e.g. letters of support) is also encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
• Address the SRT objectives and deliver solutions to the documented needs,
• Provide a lasting improvement in the European metrological capability and infrastructure beyond the
lifetime of the project,
• Facilitate improved industrial capability or improved quality of life for European citizens in terms of
personal health or protection of the environment,
• Transfer knowledge to the nanotechnology sector and the metrology community.
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as specified in the document “Guide 4: Writing Joint
Research Projects”.
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of EMPIR to develop
a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and include the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
•
improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and
to assure the traceability of national standards
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
SRT-r06.docx
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•
•
the metrology capacity of EURAMET Member States whose metrology programmes are at an early
stage of development to be increased
organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
SRT-r06.docx
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EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
Selected Research Topic number: SRT-r08
Version: 1.0
Title: Matrix reference materials for environmental analysis
Abstract
Reliable analysis of chemical indicators in water, sediment and soil samples for assessing environmental
pollution is a significant challenge for analytical chemistry because of the complexity of the sample matrix
and low concentration of pollutants. Target compounds include organics (pesticides, PAHs, PCBs, etc.) and
heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Ni, Pb and As). Laboratories performing sampling and tests in this field are regulated
by EU directives, and need appropriate matrix certified reference materials (CRMs) to demonstrate
traceability, however suitable CRMs are not always readily available locally.
Keywords
Environmental pollution, organics, heavy metals, matrix CRMs, quality control, target parameters
Background to the Metrological Challenges
Drinking water, soil used for the cultivation of agricultural products, plant and animal habitats are all at risk
from pollution or contamination from, for example, organics or heavy metals. Increased industrialisation, the
use of chemicals in agriculture and the consumption of fossil fuels drive a greater need for monitoring
environmental pollution. Establishing a quality system for the testing of environmental samples requires
appropriate calibrators i.e. matrix CRMs representing typical samples in the geomorphological and
anthropological sense. Given the complexity and instability of environmental samples such reference
materials can be difficult to obtain and NMIs / DIs need to be able to develop and validate those required in
their localities.
An NMI or DI wishing to establish a research capacity in this area would do so through the improvement and
validation of their procedures for preparing such samples. These activities would build on the experience of
more developed NMIs, using their expertise to optimise the system for the particular needs of that country.
The validation process would involve the NMI establishing the capability participating in comparisons and
analysis of uncertainties with others establishing similar facilities and those with long established facilities.
The whole process would result in both the development of the procedures, the development of the relevant
staff and the development of relationships between the establishing NMI and more experienced researchers
in the field which would foster further joint research activities beyond the life of the project.
Objectives
Proposers should address the objectives stated below, which are based on the PRT submissions. Proposers
may identify amendments to the objectives or choose to address a subset of them in order to maximise the
overall impact, or address budgetary or scientific / technical constraints, but the reasons for this should be
clearly stated in the proposal.
The JRP shall focus on the development of metrological research capacity in the preparation of reference
materials.
The specific objectives are
1.
For the participating countries wishing to develop research capabilities in heavy metal
reference materials, to develop procedures for the preparation of water/waste and
soil/sediment water matrix samples containing certified amounts (with stated measurement
uncertainty) of relevant heavy metals.
2.
For the participating countries wishing to develop research capabilities in organic pollutant
reference materials, to develop procedures for the preparation of water/waste and
EURAMET-MSU
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road, Teddington,
Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK
Phone: +44 20 8943 6666
[email protected]
www.euramet.org
soil/sediment water matrix samples containing certified amounts (with stated measurement
uncertainty) of relevant organics.
3.
For each participant to develop an individual strategy for the long-term development of their
research capability in certified reference materials for environmental pollution including
priorities for collaborations with the research community in their country, the establishment of
appropriate quality schemes and accreditation (e.g. participation in key comparisons, the
entry of CMCs into the BIPM database, accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025). They should also
develop a strategy for offering services from the established facilities to their own country
and neighbouring countries. The individual strategies should be discussed within the
consortium and with other EURAMET NMIs/DIs, to ensure that a coordinated and optimised
approach to the development of traceability in this field is developed for Europe as a whole.
Proposers shall give priority to work that meets documented metrological needs and activities that will lead to
an improvement in European metrological capability and infrastructure beyond the lifetime of the project.
Proposers should establish the relevant current capability for research, and explain how their proposed
project will develop capability beyond this.
EURAMET has defined an upper limit of 500 k€ for the EU Contribution to any project in this TP, and a
minimum of 100 k€.
EURAMET also expects the EU Contribution to the external funded partners to not exceed 10 % of the total
EU Contribution to the project. Any deviation from this must be justified.
Potential Impact
Proposals must demonstrate adequate and appropriate participation/links to the “end user” community,
describing how the project partners will engage with relevant communities during the project to facilitate
knowledge transfer and accelerate the uptake of project outputs. Evidence of support from the “end user”
community (e.g. letters of support) is also encouraged.
You should detail how your JRP results are going to:
• Address the SRT objectives and deliver solutions to the documented needs,
• Provide a lasting improvement in the European metrological capability and infrastructure beyond the
lifetime of the project,
• Facilitate improved industrial capability or improved quality of life for European citizens in terms of
personal health or protection of the environment,
• Transfer knowledge to the environmental testing sector and the metrology community.
You should detail other impacts of your proposed JRP as specified in the document “Guide 4: Writing Joint
Research Projects”.
You should also detail how your approach to realising the objectives will further the aim of EMPIR to develop
a coherent approach at the European level in the field of metrology and include the best available
contributions from across the metrology community. Specifically the opportunities for:
•
improvement of the efficiency of use of available resources to better meet metrological needs and
to assure the traceability of national standards
•
the metrology capacity of EURAMET Member States whose metrology programmes are at an early
stage of development to be increased
•
organisations other than NMIs and DIs to be involved in the work
Time-scale
The project should be of up to 3 years duration.
EMPIR Call 2014 – Industry and Research Potential
SRT-r08.docx
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