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Traceability

property of a result of a measurement or value of a standard whereby it can be related with a stated uncertainty, to stated references, usually national or international standards through an unbroken chain of comparisons.
Discussion—The concept is often expressed by the adjective traceable. The unbroken chain of comparisons is called a traceability chain (applicable only to the French text). Traceability of values in the certification of reference materials for chemical composition is discussed in IS0 Guide 35:1989 (Subclause 9.3.1) in which attention is drawn to the special problems associated with chemical analysis. Traceability of the chemical species is frequently of equal or greater
importance than the traceability of the calibration of the instruments used in the analysis.

Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E1732-24e1 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2024. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732-24e1 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org
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