Chemistry and Metrology: an Overview of European Activities

The interest of the metrology community towards chemistry started quite late, compared to “classical” metrology. In chemistry there were many metrological activities (for ex. determination of atomic weights, validation of analytical methods) carried out outside the metrological organizations. The mole, the unit of amount of substance, was introduced in the International System of Units only in 1971. The growing need to assure accuracy, stability, comparability in time and space of chemical measurements led to a better rationalisation and control of the metrological activities, leading to a convergence of the international collaborations inside the Metre Convention at the beginning of the 90s with the establishment of CCQM. At European level, in 1991 the Amount of Substance sector within EUROMET (now EURAMET, the European Association of National Metrology Institutes) was founded. In the following years the Technical Committee of Metrology in Chemistry (TC-MC) was established as a Joint EURAMET-Eurachem Technical Committee chaired by EURAMET. TC-MC is concerned with primary methods and reference materials for chemical measurements and research in metrology to support different sectors in chemistry. The activities undertaken in its four Technical Subcommittees range from organic and inorganic chemical analysis to electrochemistry and gas analysis. The work is carried out within projects in the framework of both the usual metrological approach (i.e. organisation of measurement comparisons to establish the mutual agreement among European National Metrology Institutes and Designated Institutes) and in the European programmes on metrology (EMRP and EMPIR), where a very successful participation of NMIs and DIs active in the chemical field has been recorded.