Proficiency testing scheme field measurements of PM10/PM2.5 October-November 2023, Wiesbaden - Germany

A proficiency testing scheme (PT) for the determination of Particulate Matter (PM) mass concentration with the EN reference gravimetric method was organised by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Air Quality Management and Air Pollution Control, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC), the North Rhine Westphalian State Agency for Nature, the Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV) and the Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG). The purpose of this proficiency test (PT) was to evaluate the performance of the participants' procedures. In October-November 2023, 9 laboratories and 7 National Reference Laboratories (NRL) placed 22 samplers for PM10 and 18 samplers for PM2.5 at the Wiesbaden site in Germany to sample ambient aerosol. The assigned values for PM10 and PM2.5 were determined by averaging the measurements from expert laboratories, once their validity was confirmed through statistical tests (robustness), otherwise using a robust mean. Among the reported no values, neither PM10 nor PM2.5, were found to be unsatisfactory against the z'-score criteria.