Preface

Chemical analysis is an important step in identifying problems over a wide spectrum of issues including environmental, medical, forensic, agricultural, transportation, industrial, planetary and space sciences research and development. Good analysis is vital for executive decision-making in all of the above fields. Without the appropriate chemical analysis, data analysis and interpretation, organisations and governments are denied critical information which results in decisions being made with a high probability of them being flawed. The analytical laboratory or analyst therefore needs to understand the nature of the problem at the earliest possible stage.

Analysis is expensive, but no analysis or poor analysis is even more costly. There is no purpose in spending resources to generate data which nobody will use or is inaccurate and/or imprecise. However, analysis that is targeted to address a well thought through problem or question and that has been well planned results in the consumer of this data gaining significant value and knowledge from it. The analytical laboratory and well-trained analyst therefore fills an important role in answering and solving societal problems all over the world. In order to ensure that this value is achieved, the educated and trained analyst will communicate with the users of his or her data to ensure that the correct questions are being asked and that the problem is well defined. Once the data has been generated, the analyst will then work with the user to ensure that maximum knowledge can be derived from the data. In this way, a good analytical facility with trained and motivated analytical scientists is critically important and can generate significant value.

Whenever analysis is required, the reasons for performing the analysis should be properly understood in order to acquire the correct data. Frequently, the first questions that must be answered are: “what is it?” (qualitative) and “how much is present?” (quantitative). Although the reader is encouraged to ask the question “why do you require this analysis?” This often leads to a better understanding of the problem and a much more satisfactory outcome. The analyst has at their disposal a range of tools (techniques) to answer the questions, varying in complexity and cost. The type of analytical method employed will depend on the:

• Nature of the analyte(s) of interest.

• Concentration ranges of the analyte(s).

• Matrix and potential interferences.

• Accuracy and precision required.

• Availability of equipment and reagents.