A set of four soil reference materials with certified values of total element contents and their extractable fractions

A set of certified reference materials of four natural soils denoted as CRM 7001-4 was prepared. They consist of light sandy soils with normal and elevated, silty clay loam with normal, and loam with elevated element levels. Certified and/or information values were established for the total contents of the elements As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr. Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, and their fractions, extractable with aqua regia, and boiling and cold 2 mol L-1 nitric acid, from results of a 28 laboratory intercomparison using various methods of atomic absorption spectrometry, optical emission spectrometry, mass spectrometry, electrochemical methods, spectrophotometry, instrumental neutron activation analysis, and X-ray fluorescence.