WWEM event ready as MCERTS deadline looms

London - Monitoring certification (MCERTS) schemes will be a key focus of WWEM 2008 water/wastewater and environmental monitoring event. The conference and exhibition at the Telford International Centre, 5-6 Nov, aims to offer guidance and advice and highlight technologies for operators seeking to improve the quality and reliability of their environmental monitoring.

According to the organisers, the WWEM 2008 conference (which is repeated on both days) will update delegates on the latest regulatory changes with respect to process monitoring and the analytical testing of soil and water. This will be supported by over 70 workshops that will provide practical help and advice on monitoring issues. An exhibition will run alongside the event featuring over 100 instrument manufacturers and service providers.

Supported by the Environment Agency, the main conference will cover themes such as: The Environment Agency and the modernisation of regulation; MCERTS flow inspection- benefits for process operators; A new MCERTS scheme for laboratory water analysis; MCERTS soils schemes and the importance of sampling; Effluent monitoring in line with MCERTS; and Process optimisation

“The Environment Agency is committed to protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales and our Monitoring Certification Scheme, MCERTS, helps us to achieve this by giving us confidence in monitoring data provided by operators,” said Dr Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency, in a WWEM 2008 press statement.

MCERTS sets a target of +/- 8% uncertainty for the total daily volume of effluent discharged. The scheme has already been applied to the ten Water Utilities for which over 2500 MCERTS site conformity inspection certificates have been issued.

The certification scheme is currently being extended to include industrial installations with effluent flow monitoring limits included in their PPC permits. By December 2008 all such installations must have completed an inspection of the flow monitoring arrangements and an audit of the Quality Management System.

Many sites have yet to be inspected and a rush is expected towards the end of the year, so process operators are being encouraged to request inspections as soon as possible, according to WWEM organiser Marcus Pattison.

"By the time WWEM takes place I would hope that most PPC flow inspections will have either taken place or be imminent, said Pattison. "It is likely therefore, that many process operators will be looking for ways to undertake remedial work in order to ensure compliance and WWEM represents an ideal opportunity to discover the best methods and technologies available."

The next progression for MCERTS: self monitoring of effluent flow is to consider other dischargers of effluent such as: Non water utility sites regulated under the Water Resources Act; Sites regulated under the Radio Active Substances Act; and PPC “waste” sites.

Existing MCERTS schemes covering emissions to land and water include: Chemical testing of soil; Equipment for continuous monitoring discharges to rivers, smaller watercourses and the sea; Direct toxicity assessment of effluents; Portable equipment for monitoring water; Self monitoring of effluent flow; and Sampling and chemical testing of water.

WWEM conference speakers will provide an update on the Environment Agency's Modern Regulation Programme and its impact on monitoring, including the roles of MCERTS and OMA (Operator Monitoring Assessment) in the delivery of the programme. For the first time WWEM will cover MCERTS schemes for both water and soil sampling and analysis in the laboratory.

Debbie Hudson from UKAS will deliver a presentation that will outline the requirements for gaining MCERTS accreditation and the procedures for doing so in water sampling and analysis. Jeff Ruddle, also from UKAS, will provide an update on the progress of MCERTS in the soil analysis sector.