News
14-June-2006 - Water Framework Directive - a first for
Aquacheck
Aquacheck, a leading Proficiency Testing (PT) provider to water
and environmental monitoring laboratories, have recently conducted
the first EU-wide Proficiency Test covering practically all the
priority substances in the new Water Framework Directive (WFD)
This first test involved 17 laboratories from 12 countries and
covered 39 out of the 41 priority substances in the current list -
two of which are so insoluble that practical monitoring of these
(brominated diphenyl ether and C10-C13 chloroalkanes) will be
extremely difficult.
The scheme brings together the range of tests and concentrations
required to monitor analytical performance against the requirements
of the WFD and will be offered on a regular basis. The WFD itself
places a requirement on all the EU countries to monitor
environmental water bodies for a wide range of pollutants and then
to produce action plans to improve the quality of rivers lakes,
streams and coastal waters. The aim is for all such water within
the EU to reach “good status” by 2015. More than half of the
laboratories participating in the trial achieved greater than 70%
success in the tests performed, which shows that many European
laboratories are well prepared for the new requirements - very good
news for the aquatic environment in Europe.
Aquacheck recently joined LGC and Quality Management in a new
joint venture focusing on proficiency testing (PT). The
combined operation encompasses over 4000 participating laboratories
from across the world creating a major international provider of PT
services.
Notes to Editors