Eurachem—A Focus for Analytical Chemistry in Europe ^†

Established in 1989, the aim of Eurachem is to provide a focus for analytical chemistry and quality-related issues in Europe. The main objectives are establishing a system for the international traceability of chemical measurement results and the promotion of good quality practices. Eurachem currently has 36 member countries and is effectively a “network of networks”. A requirement of membership is the establishment of a national Eurachem network that supports the dissemination of Eurachem’s aims and outputs. Eurachem also has liaison arrangements with a number of European and international organisations including Eurolab; the Technical Committee on Metrology in Chemistry (TC-MC) within Euramet; the European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA); the European Chemical Society-Division of Analytical Chemistry (EuChemS-DAC); the European Commission-Joint Research Centre; NMKL-NordVal International; AOAC-Europe; the Cooperation on International Traceability in Analytical Chemistry (CITAC); the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC); the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance: Metrology in Chemistry and Biology (CCQM); the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC); the CODEX Alimentarius Commission (via its Committee on methods of Analysis and Sampling); the Joint Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM); and the ISO Reference Materials Committee (ISO-REMCO).

Eurachem produces authoritative guidance to support laboratories in ensuring measurement quality throughout the measurement cycle. Historically, the focus was mainly on the analysis part of the cycle, with guides covering metrological traceability, method validation, measurement uncertainty and proficiency testing. However, Eurachem guides also cover other aspects of the measurement cycle, including sampling and the interpretation of results against limits. All guides are available free of charge from the Eurachem website, and translations of a number of guides are available (see https://www.eurachem.org/index.php/publications).

In addition to the development and publication of guidance documents, a key Eurachem activity is the organization of conferences and workshops on quality assurance issues. Since 2010, Eurachem has organized 20 workshops and training events, with truly international audiences.

This presentation will provide an overview of Eurachem’s aims and activities.