TECHNICAL NOTE INTERLABORATORY CALIBRATION OF PEROXYACETYL NITRATE LIQUID STANDARDS

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) solutions in the concentration range 10-100/~g PAN per ml solvent were distributed and analyzed by ten European laboratories. Overall precision accounting for standards' preparation, transport, storage and analysis resulted in standard deviations of 16 _ 8% of the mean for the high- and 25 + 8% for the low-end of the concentration range. Following alkaline PAN hydrolysis, nitrite anions were determined, mostly by chemically suppressed ion chromatography, with better precision than the acetate anions.