Is 1 ppb equal to 1 μg/kg?












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In an article I recently submitted, a reviewer asked that I provide a concentration in μg/kg instead of ppb (parts per billion), and mentions that the later is not correct. I am not a chemist, and I thought that 1 μg/kg = 1 ppb.



Is 1 ppb equal to 1 μg/kg ? What is a reason to consider ppb as incorrect ?










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    $begingroup$


    In an article I recently submitted, a reviewer asked that I provide a concentration in μg/kg instead of ppb (parts per billion), and mentions that the later is not correct. I am not a chemist, and I thought that 1 μg/kg = 1 ppb.



    Is 1 ppb equal to 1 μg/kg ? What is a reason to consider ppb as incorrect ?










    share|improve this question









    New contributor




    Nakx is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.







    $endgroup$















      2












      2








      2





      $begingroup$


      In an article I recently submitted, a reviewer asked that I provide a concentration in μg/kg instead of ppb (parts per billion), and mentions that the later is not correct. I am not a chemist, and I thought that 1 μg/kg = 1 ppb.



      Is 1 ppb equal to 1 μg/kg ? What is a reason to consider ppb as incorrect ?










      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Nakx is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.







      $endgroup$




      In an article I recently submitted, a reviewer asked that I provide a concentration in μg/kg instead of ppb (parts per billion), and mentions that the later is not correct. I am not a chemist, and I thought that 1 μg/kg = 1 ppb.



      Is 1 ppb equal to 1 μg/kg ? What is a reason to consider ppb as incorrect ?







      concentration notation units






      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Nakx is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question









      New contributor




      Nakx is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 2 hours ago









      andselisk

      19.2k662125




      19.2k662125






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      asked 2 hours ago









      NakxNakx

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          $begingroup$

          You are correct suggesting that 1 μg/kg implies 1 ppb, however the reverse is not true. For instance, 1 ppb can also be 1 nmol/mol, and the reader will never have a chance to deduce which one is it unless you explicitly define the usage of the "parts per something" in the text.
          This clutters the manuscript with redundant notes and causes overall confusion.



          IUPAC also lists all similar symbols (ppm, ppt, ppb etc.) as deprecated; from IUPAC's “Green Book” [1, p. 98]:




          Although ppm, ppb, ppt and alike are widely used in various applications of
          analytical and environmental chemistry, it is suggested to abandon completely their use because of the ambiguities involved. These units are unnecessary and can be easily replaced by SI-compatible quantities such as pmol/mol (picomole per mole), which are unambiguous. The last column contains suggested replacements (similar replacements can be formulated as mg/g, μg/g, pg/g etc.).



          $$
          begin{array}{lllll}
          hline
          text{Name} & text{Symbol} & text{Value} & text{Examples} & text{Replacement} \
          hline
          ldots & & & & \
          text{part per billion} & text{ppb} & 10^{-9} & text{The air quality standard for ozone is a} & pu{mmol/mol} \
          & & & text{volume fraction of}~varphi = 120~text{ppb} & \
          ldots & & & & \
          hline
          end{array}
          $$




          References




          1. IUPAC “Green Book” Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 3rd ed.; Cohen, R. E., Mills, I., Eds.; IUPAC Recommendations; RSC Pub: Cambridge, UK, 2007. (PDF)






          share|improve this answer











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            1 Answer
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            active

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            1 Answer
            1






            active

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            active

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            active

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            2












            $begingroup$

            You are correct suggesting that 1 μg/kg implies 1 ppb, however the reverse is not true. For instance, 1 ppb can also be 1 nmol/mol, and the reader will never have a chance to deduce which one is it unless you explicitly define the usage of the "parts per something" in the text.
            This clutters the manuscript with redundant notes and causes overall confusion.



            IUPAC also lists all similar symbols (ppm, ppt, ppb etc.) as deprecated; from IUPAC's “Green Book” [1, p. 98]:




            Although ppm, ppb, ppt and alike are widely used in various applications of
            analytical and environmental chemistry, it is suggested to abandon completely their use because of the ambiguities involved. These units are unnecessary and can be easily replaced by SI-compatible quantities such as pmol/mol (picomole per mole), which are unambiguous. The last column contains suggested replacements (similar replacements can be formulated as mg/g, μg/g, pg/g etc.).



            $$
            begin{array}{lllll}
            hline
            text{Name} & text{Symbol} & text{Value} & text{Examples} & text{Replacement} \
            hline
            ldots & & & & \
            text{part per billion} & text{ppb} & 10^{-9} & text{The air quality standard for ozone is a} & pu{mmol/mol} \
            & & & text{volume fraction of}~varphi = 120~text{ppb} & \
            ldots & & & & \
            hline
            end{array}
            $$




            References




            1. IUPAC “Green Book” Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 3rd ed.; Cohen, R. E., Mills, I., Eds.; IUPAC Recommendations; RSC Pub: Cambridge, UK, 2007. (PDF)






            share|improve this answer











            $endgroup$


















              2












              $begingroup$

              You are correct suggesting that 1 μg/kg implies 1 ppb, however the reverse is not true. For instance, 1 ppb can also be 1 nmol/mol, and the reader will never have a chance to deduce which one is it unless you explicitly define the usage of the "parts per something" in the text.
              This clutters the manuscript with redundant notes and causes overall confusion.



              IUPAC also lists all similar symbols (ppm, ppt, ppb etc.) as deprecated; from IUPAC's “Green Book” [1, p. 98]:




              Although ppm, ppb, ppt and alike are widely used in various applications of
              analytical and environmental chemistry, it is suggested to abandon completely their use because of the ambiguities involved. These units are unnecessary and can be easily replaced by SI-compatible quantities such as pmol/mol (picomole per mole), which are unambiguous. The last column contains suggested replacements (similar replacements can be formulated as mg/g, μg/g, pg/g etc.).



              $$
              begin{array}{lllll}
              hline
              text{Name} & text{Symbol} & text{Value} & text{Examples} & text{Replacement} \
              hline
              ldots & & & & \
              text{part per billion} & text{ppb} & 10^{-9} & text{The air quality standard for ozone is a} & pu{mmol/mol} \
              & & & text{volume fraction of}~varphi = 120~text{ppb} & \
              ldots & & & & \
              hline
              end{array}
              $$




              References




              1. IUPAC “Green Book” Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 3rd ed.; Cohen, R. E., Mills, I., Eds.; IUPAC Recommendations; RSC Pub: Cambridge, UK, 2007. (PDF)






              share|improve this answer











              $endgroup$
















                2












                2








                2





                $begingroup$

                You are correct suggesting that 1 μg/kg implies 1 ppb, however the reverse is not true. For instance, 1 ppb can also be 1 nmol/mol, and the reader will never have a chance to deduce which one is it unless you explicitly define the usage of the "parts per something" in the text.
                This clutters the manuscript with redundant notes and causes overall confusion.



                IUPAC also lists all similar symbols (ppm, ppt, ppb etc.) as deprecated; from IUPAC's “Green Book” [1, p. 98]:




                Although ppm, ppb, ppt and alike are widely used in various applications of
                analytical and environmental chemistry, it is suggested to abandon completely their use because of the ambiguities involved. These units are unnecessary and can be easily replaced by SI-compatible quantities such as pmol/mol (picomole per mole), which are unambiguous. The last column contains suggested replacements (similar replacements can be formulated as mg/g, μg/g, pg/g etc.).



                $$
                begin{array}{lllll}
                hline
                text{Name} & text{Symbol} & text{Value} & text{Examples} & text{Replacement} \
                hline
                ldots & & & & \
                text{part per billion} & text{ppb} & 10^{-9} & text{The air quality standard for ozone is a} & pu{mmol/mol} \
                & & & text{volume fraction of}~varphi = 120~text{ppb} & \
                ldots & & & & \
                hline
                end{array}
                $$




                References




                1. IUPAC “Green Book” Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 3rd ed.; Cohen, R. E., Mills, I., Eds.; IUPAC Recommendations; RSC Pub: Cambridge, UK, 2007. (PDF)






                share|improve this answer











                $endgroup$



                You are correct suggesting that 1 μg/kg implies 1 ppb, however the reverse is not true. For instance, 1 ppb can also be 1 nmol/mol, and the reader will never have a chance to deduce which one is it unless you explicitly define the usage of the "parts per something" in the text.
                This clutters the manuscript with redundant notes and causes overall confusion.



                IUPAC also lists all similar symbols (ppm, ppt, ppb etc.) as deprecated; from IUPAC's “Green Book” [1, p. 98]:




                Although ppm, ppb, ppt and alike are widely used in various applications of
                analytical and environmental chemistry, it is suggested to abandon completely their use because of the ambiguities involved. These units are unnecessary and can be easily replaced by SI-compatible quantities such as pmol/mol (picomole per mole), which are unambiguous. The last column contains suggested replacements (similar replacements can be formulated as mg/g, μg/g, pg/g etc.).



                $$
                begin{array}{lllll}
                hline
                text{Name} & text{Symbol} & text{Value} & text{Examples} & text{Replacement} \
                hline
                ldots & & & & \
                text{part per billion} & text{ppb} & 10^{-9} & text{The air quality standard for ozone is a} & pu{mmol/mol} \
                & & & text{volume fraction of}~varphi = 120~text{ppb} & \
                ldots & & & & \
                hline
                end{array}
                $$




                References




                1. IUPAC “Green Book” Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, 3rd ed.; Cohen, R. E., Mills, I., Eds.; IUPAC Recommendations; RSC Pub: Cambridge, UK, 2007. (PDF)







                share|improve this answer














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                edited 2 hours ago

























                answered 2 hours ago









                andseliskandselisk

                19.2k662125




                19.2k662125






















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