INDEPTH: WATER
Accredited laboratories for water testing
CBC News Online | August 25, 2004
One of the key recommendations to emerge from the Walkerton report was to enforce mandatory accredited laboratory testing of all water sources in Ontario. Previously, Ontario's water could be tested at any lab, whether it was recognized by the government or not.
What is an accredited laboratory?
An accredited laboratory requires an ongoing demonstration of performance, evaluated through proficiency testing twice a year. Capability is tested every two years through lab audits. Accreditation is given jointly by the Standards Council of Canada (a government agency) and Canada's National Accreditation Program for Environmental Laboratories (CAEAL), through a program called the Program for the Accreditation of Laboratories (PALCAN).
How does a lab get accredited?
First, the lab audits and proficiency testing are done by CAEAL staff and an advisory panel. Then the recommendation for accreditation goes to the Standards Council of Canada. The lab gets a certificate and gets listed as an accredited lab. Two to four trained assessors take up to four days every other year to assess a lab.
What kind of tests do they do?
An accredited lab must be proficient in testing water for chemicals and bacteria, including fecal coliforms. It must also test soil, oil, air filters and occupational health.
A lab must have technical capability to conduct a specific test, satisfactorily and within a specific timeframe. Unaccredited Canadian laboratories failed 21 per cent of the fecal coliform tests in comparison to six per cent of accredited labs according to the SCC and the CAEAL.
How many labs are accredited with CAEAL?
British Columbia has 13 accredited labs, the Prairies have 26, Ontario has 58, Quebec has two, the Atlantic provinces have 12, and the Territories have one. However, many other labs in Canada have been certified as PT program only labs, meaning those labs that have only participated in the proficiency testing. Of those, B.C. has 67, the Prairies have 23, Ontario has 43, Quebec has two, the Atlantic provinces have 22, and the Territories have two.
Quebec has its own accreditation program, and therefore only has a total of four labs registered with CAEAL.
Which provinces require accredited labs for their water testing?
Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.
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