Introduction

In Austria, the quality of ground- and surface water is monitored since the early 90´s. About 2000 groundwater and 200 surface and river water sites are sampled regularly and analyzed for numerous inorganic and organic parameters in a nationwide measurement network. The exact range and frequency of the water analyses are legally regulated. This permanent and comprehensive measurement program requires reliable and accurate results of analysis.

In 1994, the Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics at the IFA-Tulln started to build up a PT scheme for external quality assurance in water analysis on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management (BML). This includes a large range of inorganic and organic parameters and has become an integral part of the nationwide measurement programme.
The results of the water quality monitoring are published (in German) on the website of the BML.
Since 1996 the Proficiency Testing scheme is open to all laboratories that are interested in testing their analytical performance. More than 900 laboratories from 50 countries participated in our interlaboratory comparisons.

IFA-Tulln

The IFA-Tulln is located close to the Danube river approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Vienna and was opened in 1994. It is a department of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna and is called "Department of Agrobiotechnology, IFA-Tulln".
The Proficiency test samples with synthetic water are organized by the Institute of Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics, which is a part of the department in Tulln. It has 800 m2 laboratory space, a friendly working atmosphere and extensive and modern equipment for environmental analysis. Quality assurance in analytical chemistry is a main focus at the Institute for Bioanalytics and Agro-Metabolomics at the IFA-Tulln.

The accreditation as a provider of proficiency tests for water analysis according to EN ISO/IEC 17043:2010 took place in May 2020.

Cooperation IFA-Tulln - Environment Agency Austria (Umweltbundesamt GmbH, UBA)

Until the start of the cooperation between the IFA and the Environment Agency Austria GmbH in 2013, the PT samples were exclusively synthetic water samples with concentrations based on natural water. The cooperation with the Environment Agency Austria GmbH (UBA), which has also been accredited as a provider of proficiency tests in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17043 since November 2020, enables additional real sample PT tests and an extended range of parameters.
Synthetic samples: Coordination: IFA-Tulln
Natural samples: Coordination: UBA GmbH
Registration for all proficiency tests takes place at the IFA-Tulln. In case of orders for real sample proficiency testings, invoicing is carried out on behalf of and for the Environment Agency Austria.