Certified Reference Materials for Soils and Bottom Sediments Containing Polychlorinated Biphenyls

Reference materials are an indispensable element in the quality control of analytical results and procedures. Complicated natural matrices such as soil and sediment in the environment are subject to different processes. They are a source of various biochemical reactions, degradation, and biotransformation. Subject to these processes are all organic and inorganic pollutions which affect component parts of soil and sediment. The quantity and the composition of the organic and inorganic matter forming a given matrix, its origin, and the particle size fractions—all has an immediate influence on the content and the kind of pollution. The choice of the right reference material is a condition of the correct estimation of the reliability of the results. Many of the components forming the environmental matrix have influence on the content, stability, and homogeneity of the PCBs (e.g., the organic compound content and the percentage of minerals, particle size, moisture level). Reference material must be as similar as possible to real samples tested. Unfortunately, the majority of commercially available certified reference matrices for soils and bottom sediments containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are not fully characterized as regards their makeup and the content of mineral and organic substances. Therefore, we face the question of matching (producing) appropriate CRMs for the tested matrices (samples of soils and sediments) to obtain dependable test results. Another solution to this problem could be creation of model compositions of soils and sediments with specific physical and chemical properties.