Assessment of methods currently used for the determination of Cr and Se species in solutions

The importance of inorganic selenium and chromium speciation at low concentration levels is well established. Thus, society demands that accurate analytical methods be implemented in routine laboratories. In this context, the European Commission, through the Standards, Measurements and Testing Programme, has contributed significantly to improving the quality control of the speciation of inorganic selenium, as Set (IV) and Se(VI), and chromium, as Cr(III) and Cr(VI), by organising interlaboratory studies followed by the preparation of candidate reference materials. In this article are outlined the performance of the methods used by the participating laboratories and the main sources of errors detected. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.