What effect will the inappropriate container have on the test results?

Modified on: Mon, 14 Jan, 2019 at 2:59 PM


The use of an inappropriate container can mean using the wrong type of container, using a container that is precharged with the wrong preservative, is not made of the test appropriate material, etc and this can have major implications on your test results.  Results could be biased high or low or be invalid.  While in some cases, there may be no actual bias effect on data, results could still be considered invalid because the effect of the inappropriate container cannot be accurately quantified.  For example, submitting a bottle preserved with nitric acid (that is intended for metals) and requesting nitrogen parameters, will likely bias your nitrogen results very high because of the nitric acid.  For example, sampling for volatile organic compounds in a plastic bottle, will likely bias your results low, since the VOCs will be lost through the plastic.  The amount of bias either way, can be sample dependent so it is not possible to accurately quantify, how much results would be affected.



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