Reference materials and intercomparison samples may be obtained by laboratories involved in the analysis of environmental samples containing radioactivity, pesticides, toxic inorganic species, or toxic organic species. These reference materials and intercomparison samples are available from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Quality Assurance Division located at the Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory in Las Vegas (EMSL-LV). These materials are useful for incorporation into a laboratory's quality control program for the evaluation of the precision and accuracy of analytical work. Media used for radiation reference materials are pitchblende, Monazite ore, uranium mill tailings, Mancos shale, fly ash, and water spiked with radionuclides. Radioactivity intercomparison samples consist of water, milk, air, urine, and a simulated diet slurry spiked with radionuclides. Media available for toxic organic reference materials are sludge, shale oil, and rag oil, and for intercomparison samples are soil and water. Characterized fly ash, foundry sludge, and river sediment serve as reference materials for toxic inorganics, while spiked soil and water serve as intercomparison samples. Finally, spiked adipose tissue, blood plasma, urine, and water comprise the pesticide intercomparison samples, and, after the disclosure of the true pesticide compositions and concentrations of these samples, the laboratory can use the samples as reference materials. The reference materials are generally available continuously, but the intercomparison samples are distributed on a scheduled basis and in some cases only to certain laboratories.