Abstract
Complex analytical procedures are often required to prove the non-compliance with a specific legislation. In the case of a small overlap of the limit, integration of the method uncertainty in the decision-making process is essential. The decision rule proposed in Wallonia, Belgium, for the non-compliance of waste incineration plants with the EU limit value for PCDD and PCDF emissions is presented. The method uncertainty was estimated annually over 6 years from duplicate measurements using two top-down approaches. Depending on the congener, the standard uncertainty varies from 30 to 85%, with a good correlation between calculations. The analytical contribution was estimated using a bottom-up evaluation. The impact of the sampling step was deduced from the whole estimation and represents more than 80% of the total uncertainty budget. No optimisation is foreseen at this time because of practical field constraints. Based on the average fraction of each congener, the uncertainty associated with the measurement result has been established and shows a high stability over the years. Using this value, a guard band has been calculated and will be proposed to the regulatory body.
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Abbreviations
- PCDD:
-
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin
- PCDF:
-
Polychlorinated dibenzofurane
- I-TEF:
-
International Toxicity Equivalency Factor
- I-TEQ:
-
International Toxicity Equivalent
- Nm3 :
-
m3 of gas in normal conditions of temperature and pressure (273.15 K and 101325 Pa)
References
Directive 2000/76/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4th December 2000 on the incineration of waste. OJEC L 332, 28/12/2000
EN 1948-3:2006: Stationary source emissions. Determination of the mass concentration of PCDDs/PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs. Part 3: identification and quantification of PCDDs/PCDFs
ISO/IEC 17025:2005: General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories
ISO/IEC Guide 98:1995: Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM)
NT tec 604/TR604: Uncertainty from sampling. Nordtest guide, 2007
ISO 20988:2007: Air quality—guidelines for estimating measurement uncertainty
EURACHEM/CITAC guide: Use of uncertainty information in compliance assessment
NATO/CCMS (North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society) (1988) International Toxicity Equivalency Factor (I-TEF) method of risk assessment for complex mixtures of dioxins and related compounds. Report 176
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank C. Nadin, P. Duchateau and A. Galloy from the ISSeP analytical laboratory for their technical help. The ISSeP and the authors are also indebted to the Walloon Environment Directorate and the MWI, which funds the monitoring network.
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Bergmans, B., Idczak, F., Maetz, P. et al. Setting up a decision rule from estimated uncertainty: emission limit value for PCDD and PCDF incineration plants in Wallonia, Belgium. Accred Qual Assur 13, 639–644 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-008-0447-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-008-0447-x