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Box 1              Definition and explanation of LOQ

Limit of Quantitation (LOQ) as well as limit of detection (LOD) are terms used to describe the smallest concentration of a measurand that can be reliably measured by an analytical procedure (Armbruster, and Pry, 2008).

• LOD (Limit of detection): Analyte was found in the sample (content which can be distinguished from the blank test sample in which the analyte is absent).
• LOQ (Limit of quantification): Analyte content which can be determined with a certain level of precision.

Within Waterbase – Water Quality, countries are recommended to report LOQ for each substance. Reporting of LOQ has not always carried out for example in case where in a country different methods with different LOQ for one substance were used.

LOQ becomes important, when higher than the environmental quality standard (EQS). In such cases it could not be decided, if the standard is met. For this report we have counted them as ‘standard is met’. In a second step, we have the aim to summarise these records as ‘unclear, if EQS is met’. This can be done, if our statistical checks have unravelled all values below LOQ.