Abstract Submission - L. Cope - Odournet UK Ltd
The benefite of accreditation for odour sampling and analysis
Standardisation of environmental analysis techniques across a sector is widely acknowledged as being of fundamental importance in improving accuracy and ensuring repeatability of results. UKAS certification (in combination with the MCerts scheme) has long been the benchmark for quality assurance and compliance to environmental standards within the UK.
Odour is becoming an increasingly important environmental concern, but in comparison to other environmental emissions, standardisation of techniques has been slow. This has been largely due to the challenges that are posed by odour in terms of the development of robust analysis and sample collection techniques in what is a unique environmental science.
In 2003, a British standard for olfactometry was introduced (BSEN 13725:2003), offering an approved standardised method for odour analysis. Shortly after publication of this standard, both of the two main olfactometry laboratories in the UK successfully achieved UKAS accreditation to ISO 17025 UKAS for odour concentration measurement which greatly improved the market confidence in odour analysis techniques. Since the implementation of accredited procedures in the Odournet UK laboratory, the use of stringent internal quality criteria and a structured management system has resulted in analysis stability and the provision of fully traceable results.
There was however still a large missing piece to the quality system, there were no standardised procedures for actually collecting samples which were presented for analysis on site. This can lead to a number of problems with odour sampling including the use of non-standardised methods during sample collection, lack of understanding of the factors affecting sample integrity, inconsistencies in calculation and interpretation of results, lack of formal training and a lack of consideration of the uncertainty associated with different techniques.
Consequently, this can cause a number of potential problems include massive variability in results obtained by different testing companies, leading to little confidence from operators.
The way forward for overcoming these problems clearly relies upon the development of robust, documented quality procedures which ensure all influences on odour analysis results introduced during sample collection are well understood and controlled. It is therefore encouraging to report that after many years of developing and implementing standardised odour sampling procedures, building on their experience gained form running an accredited laboratory, Odournet UK Ltd have become the first company in the UK to achieve full UKAS accreditation for their ODOUR SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS services combined, demonstrating that robust quality control for odour sampling is both possible and achievable, and also provides a real prospect for the standardisation of odour sampling techniques which could only be seen as a benefit in this rather unusual sector of environmental science.
