Proficiency Scheme: Microbiological

Health Protection Agency EQA Schemes

The Health Protection Agency is a new independent organisation dedicated to protecting people's health. It brings together the expertise formerly in a number of official organisations, and it works in partnership with the National Radiological Protection Board.

Health Protection Agency EQA schemes provide laboratories with an independent assessment of their quality of their microbiological service to isolate and identify micro-organisms of public health significance (e.g. food poisoning bacteria).

RSSL participates in one of the proficiency schemes:

Water EQA Standard Scheme (The EQUAL Scheme for Indicator Organisms)

Covers micro-organisms commonly found as contaminants in drinking water. The monitoring of drinking water and surface waters used for recreational purposes is increasingly called for in both national and international regulatory standards.

Routine monitoring of drinking water examines for indicator organisms, such as low levels of coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli, enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium perfringens as well as colony count organisms. Recreational waters will be more routinely examined for higher levels of coliform bacteria and enterococci typical of those seen in contaminated raw surface waters.

Website: http://www.hpa.org.uk (opens in a new window)