SERMIN1 and VIDAC18: Two Proposed Reference Materials for Rare Earth Element Determination in Groundwater

Abstract

In this work, homogeneous samples of two Portuguese mineral waters, SERMIN1 and VIDAC18, have been analysed for their REE contents. The participation of twenty international laboratories made it possible to evaluate the data by robust statistical procedures. Eighty‐one percent of the participants used ICP‐QMS for REE determination in these two candidate reference materials. Assigned values are reported for SERMIN1, covering the fourteen naturally occurring lanthanides (La‐Lu). For VIDAC18, assigned values are presented only for ten REE, since accurate assigned values for La, Ce, Tb and Eu need further analytical work to improve data quality.