The importance of reference materials was recognised in the European
Commission from the onset. An office called Bureau Communautaire de Références
(BCR) was established in 1973 with a mandate to organise certification of
reference materials and to distribute them. Central Bureau for Nuclear
Measurements (CBNM), today IRMM, started operation in 1960 and provided first
nuclear reference materials.
The BCR
The BCR did not have laboratories of its own but used existing facilities in
the EU Member States. The first programmes BCR-1 (1976-1978) and BCR-2
(1979-1982) were dedicated to support industry. In 1979 applied metrology was
added to the BCR agenda to promote Europe’s measurement infrastructure. During
BCR-3 (1983-1987) applied metrology and the production of environmental
reference materials was especially promoted.
The Framework Programmes
With the Framework Programmes (FP) being established as the main policy
instrument of Community-wide research, the BCR became part of it under the
second FP (1987-1990) and focused on harmonisation of measurements. In FP 3
(1990-1994) the BCR activities were allocated to the Measurements and Testing
Programme aiming to develop testing methods for written standards in
co-operation with the European Organisation for Standardisation (CEN) and to
produce reference materials.
In FP 4 (1994-1998) the Measurements and Testing programme covered a wider
scope from support of trade and accreditation to feasibility studies, and the
actual production of reference materials. These topics were incorporated in FP
5 (1998-2002) in the form of a generic activity 'Measurements and Testing'
within the thematic programme 'Promoting competitive and sustainable growth'.
In FP 5, however, the funding by RTD DG was focused on feasibility studies for
the future production of new materials but not on their actual production, as
it had been the case in FP 4. In the FP 6 reference materials are developed in
research projects.
Role of the JRC and IRMM
The Joint Research Centre was involved in the BCR activities from the
beginning, and had already established the METRE Programme (Mesures, Etalons
et Techniques de Référence) in 1972 for research in applied measurement
science.
IRMM has developed reference materials since the late 1960's. In the beginning
IRMM specialised in materials related to nuclear research but over the years
it has developed a large variety of certified reference materials for
industry, environmental and food analysis, as well as for biotechnology and
health applications.
In 1984 IRMM started building a dedicated laboratory for the production of
powder materials and a special storage for keeping them. In addition to
developing its own IRMM series it supported the BCR programme. In 1994 IRMM
took over the storage and distribution of all BCR® materials
together with the responsibility for the renewal of exhausted reference
materials from the Directorate-General XII, then responsible for the BCR®
reference materials. With the closing of the Standards, Measurements &
Testing Programme of Research DG (former DG XII) in 2002 IRMM became
responsible for the management of all remaining BCR® materials.
Today, IRMM has teamed up with two other European reference material
producers, Bundesanstalt für
Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM, DE) and
LGC (UK), in a European Reference Material
(ERM®) partnership. The partners have agreed on guidelines
which assure their certified reference materials fulfill the internationally
accepted standards. All processes in the production of these ERMs such as
preparation, quality monitoring and auditing, are transparent. The trademark
ERM® is a guarantee of high quality and is only granted for
reference materials which have successfully passed a peer evaluation.