Cooperation on International Traceability in Analytical Chemistry (CITAC) was created in 1993 to improve traceability of chemical measurement results and to ensure the comparibility of analytical measurements made in different countries and/or at different times. CITAC Guides published at http://www.citac.cc/publicat.html provide the basis for many approaches in analytical testing.
EURACHEM is a network of organisations in Europe with the goals of establishing international traceability of chemical measurements and promotion of good quality practices. It provides a focus for analytical chemistry and quality related issues in Europe. Eurachem documents are generally free and can be dowloaded at http://www.eurachem.org/index.php/publications/guides.
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) Joint Committee on Guides in Metrology (JCGM). This international authority on all aspects related to metrology (as a science) is responsible for the joint work involving many of the organisations listed here for the production of the Guide to the Expresssion of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM). National member bodies to this organization are normally the nation's national metrology institute (NMI). In the US, the NMI is the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). In Canada it is the National Research Council's Institute for National Measurement Standards (NRC/INMS).
The GUM is the pre-eminent international consensus-based document for all things related to metrology and uncertainty. It is published on the JCGM website with the current version of the VIM (International Vocabulary for Metrology) and these may be downloaded for free by anyone. Any laboratory that is accredited for calibration should have controlled versions of these documents in their Master Document List.
- GUM - http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/gum.html
- VIM3 - http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/vim.html
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This is one of three international SDOs located in Geneva, CH. IEC standards cover a wide variety of electrical testing disciplines. IEC standards can be purchased from either of the two national member bodies on this page (ANSI and SCC) or directly from IEC at their webstore, http://webstore.iec.ch/.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This is one of three international SDOs located in Geneva, CH. ISO standards cover a wide variety of technical and non-technical issues and disciplines. Two of its more well-known standards within the laboratory and laboratory accreditation community are ISO/IEC 17025 (shared authoriship with IEC) and ISO 9000:2005. ISO standards can be purchased from either of the two national member bodies on this page (ANSI and SCC) or directly from the ISO at their ISO store (http://www.iso.org/iso/store.htm).
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is one of three international SDOs located in Geneva, CH. It is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICT). ITU allocates the global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strives to improve access to information and communication technologies to underserved communities worldwide.
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights and other critically evaluated data. Publications are available for download on http://www.iupac.org/Publications. In the discipline of proficiency testing for chemical parameters, the IUPAC International Harmonised Protocal is an authoritative reference and can be downloaded at http://www.iupac.org/objID/Article/pac7801x0145.