General Procedures for Limit of Detection Calculations in the Industrial Hygiene Chemistry Laboratory

The limit of detection of an analytical process has been defined to be three standard deviations above the background instrument response. The purpose of this paper is to provide a bridge between this definition and the actual implementation of limit of detection calculations in the industrial hygiene or environmental chemistry laboratory. Methods are illustrated which incorporate into the limit of detection computations the shape of the calibration curve, the accuracy of prediction of the calibration curve, and the variability of instrument responses. The methods presented are widely applicable and can be easily added into existing analytical programs. Burkart, J.A.: General procedures for limit of detection calculations in the industrial hygiene chemistry laboratory.