On chemicals what do the letters PA mean

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

As much as I like and admire most of Cecil’s answers, I am surprised to find a lot of discussion on pH, assuming that the submitter got it wrong. PA stands for Pro Analysis, which means that the sample is of a very high purity.

2

The link is: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_338b.html

I think that Cecil’s answer was likely correct given the status of the asker, and the reasons for asking… :wink:

3

Thanks for the reply, but I fail to see this. Quoting from the column: Dunc said his buds have to “consistently check the PA to get it right”. Indeed assuming that the question relates to illegal drug manufacture, I am pretty sure that you need to make sure that your chemicals are very pure, i.e. “pro analysis” (p.a.) quality. I am a chemist, but with little experience in organic chemistry. I cannot judge whether the synthesis of methamphetamine requires monitoring of pH, but in general, this is not the case for organic syntheses.