Application of the FAPAS protocol to a proficiency testing on Pb and Cd extracted from glazed ceramic

The proficiency-testing scheme (CNCA-07-06) concerning lead and cadmium determination extracted from glazed ceramic surfaces involved 43 Chinese laboratories as participants, and has been well implemented. All the test materials passed the statistical homogeneity tests, and were deemed suitable for distribution. Reference values were determined from the obtained results and the performance of participants was based on z-scores. As a result, the majority of participants obtained satisfactory z-scores and laboratories that need to revise their procedures were singled out. Overall, about 8.5% of all results submitted in this PT round were unsatisfactory in terms of z-scores (22 out of 258 total data sets submitted), while the percentage of doubtful z-scores was 4.6% (12 out of 258 total data sets). Besides, the factors that might be associated with unsatisfactory results were also evaluated and suggestions were made to help improve the performance of laboratories in this PT.