Progress achieved in EURAMET project 21GRD09 MetroPOEM: Metrology for the harmonisation of measurements of environmental pollutants in Europe

¹ Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Germany
² Aarhus Universitet, Denmark
³ Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu Ulusal Metroloji Enstitüsü, Türkiye
⁴ Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, List, Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel, France
⁵ Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Switzerland
⁶ Labor Spiez, Switzerland
⁷ Fizinių ir technologijos mokslų centras, Lithuania
⁸ Universität Wien, Austria
⁹ Göteborgs universitet, Sweden
¹⁰ Triskem International, France
¹¹ Institutul Naţional de Cercetare Dezvoltare pentru Fizică şi Inginerie Nucleară Horia Hulubei, Romania
¹² Montanuniversität Leoben, Austria
¹³ Norges miljøog biovitenskapelige universitet, Norway
¹⁴ Laboratoire national de métrologie et d’essais, France
¹⁵ National Measurement Laboratory, United Kingdom
¹⁶ Český Metrologický Institut, Czech Republic
¹⁷ Vinča Institut za Nuklearne Nauke, Serbia
¹⁸ Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Germany
¹⁹ Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Denmark
²⁰ National Physical Laboratory, United Kingdom
²¹ Helsingin yliopisto, Finland
²² Institutt for energiteknikk, Norway
²³ Säteilyturvakeskus, Finland
²⁴ Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung, Germany
²⁵ Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany
²⁶ Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany
²⁷ Institut Jožef Stefan, Slovenia

^† Lead Author, dirk.arnold@ptb.de
^‡ Currently at LGC, UK

Published online: 7 April 2025

Abstract

The European Green Deal’s ambition for zero pollution requires development of highly sensitive techniques to detect ultra-low amounts of pollutants and determine their isotope ratios, where mass spectrometry is a key method. The project bridges the traceability gap between activity and mass measurements – particularly estimation of mass bias – and establishes new tools for pollutant tracing. SI-traceable reference materials and measurement procedures are being developed that significantly reduce measurement uncertainty and detection limits, to enable tracking pollution sources by commonly available mass spectrometers. This project supports strategies described by the European Metrology Network on pollution monitoring and the established EMN on radiation protection. Main areas of work are:

• Development of low-level radionuclide standards for ⁹⁰Sr and a series of actinides,

• Development of SI traceable high-precision analytical methods for isotope ratio determination of Li, B, Cr, Cd, Ni, Sb, Pb, and U in environmental matrices applicable to single and multi-collector ICP-MS systems.

• Generation of two reference materials – seawater and silica – spiked with radionuclides

• Production of certified seawater reference material for isotope ratio to validate analytical methods, support proficiency testing, and ensure quality control in future monitoring.

• Communication of project outcomes include peer reviewed papers, good practice guides, workshops, conference presentations and more.