Quality assurance and accreditation
The Quality Management System at the Marine Monitoring Division (JMN) of the Latvian Institute of Hydroecology was established in 1999. The laboratory was established in 2007 and is compliant with the standard LVS EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories”.
As an official confirmation of the compliance of the management system and its competence to perform the activities included in the scope of accreditation (sampling and testing) in accordance with the requirements of this Standard, JMN has been granted the status of an accredited body with accreditation certificate number LATAK-T-169-16-99.
JMN’s current scope of accreditation
Sampling and physicochemical, hydrobiological and ecotoxicological testing of seawater, freshwater, marine and freshwater soils; physicochemical testing of soils and biological objects; ecotoxicological testing of effluents and chemicals.
Accredited methods
1999. In 2010, standard chemistry methods for nutrients and dissolved oxygen, as well as water sampling for testing these parameters.
2000. In 2009, a method for determining the pH of water.
2001. In 2010 – hydrobiological methods: sampling and testing for chlorophyll a, phytoplankton, mesozooplankton and soft-bottom macrozoobenthos.
From 2001. until 2003. For the first time, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a series of guidelines for the determination of metals in sediment, soil and biological samples for a total of 10 metals, including the most dangerous: mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). 2001. In 2007, the original method for measuring mercury was replaced by a more environmentally friendly one.
2017. and 2019. In 2010, acute toxicity methods for freshwater, wastewater and chemicals using Daphnia magna Straus and unicellular green algae test organisms were added as the latest accreditation scope.
For more information on the current scope and methods of accreditation, see the website of the VA “Latvian National Accreditation Bureau”(https://ai.latak.gov.lv/index.php?lang=lv). For a list of all accredited bodies, see the link to the JMN scope of accreditation (No T-169).