Two Canadian organizations will be helping countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to provide clean, safe, drinking water for their people. The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and the Canadian Association for Environmental Analytical Laboratories (CAEAL), have agreed to work with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to provide accreditation services to water testing laboratories, in order to ensure the provision of reliable, accurate testing of drinking water.
This voluntary program will be similar to SCC and CAEAL's Canadian laboratory accreditation program, which is based on ISO/IEC 17025, the international standard for technical competence and quality in all areas of testing and calibration. Under the agreement:
"This partnership is further proof of Canada's commitment to leadership in international standardization," said Peter Clark, executive director of the Standards Council. Dr. Rick Wilson, executive director of CAEAL, says: "Our program is rigorous and has received international recognition, yet it is inexpensive because it is based on volunteers."
Dr. Peter Toft, Manager, Special Projects for PAHO's Health and Environment Program, noted: "Many countries in the Latin America and Caribbean Region lack a comprehensive program for accrediting drinking water labs. We are very pleased that Canada is willing to help."
Accreditation is the formal recognition of an organization's competence to carry out certain functions. By verifying that laboratories have the appropriate people, equipment and skills, the accreditation program will help to ensure the reliability of their results.
The Pan American Health Organization is an international public health agency. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO), and as the health organization of the Inter-American System.
The Standards Council of Canada is the Federal Crown corporation that oversees the National Standards System. Its Program for Accreditation of Laboratories -- Canada (PALCAN) has accredited over 250 laboratories in a variety of general testing and specialty areas. PALCAN and its partners (including CAEAL), have jointly obtained international recognition from the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).
The Canadian Association for Environmental Analytical Laboratories is a not-for-profit association of public and private sector laboratories. A principal objective of the association is to promote and maintain a high level of assurance in analytical test data. To this end, CAEAL manages proficiency testing and site assessment programs that are tailored to meet the specific needs of environmental testing laboratories.
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