The laboratory in Madrid which analysed the dioxins in Zaldibar is not accredited at European level
- The Basque Government has sent to the CSIC laboratory in Madrid air samples taken in the vicinity of the Verter Recycling landfill to measure the quantity of dioxins, furans and PCBs. But in the Spanish state, only two laboratories with the authorization of the National Accreditation Entity (ENAC) to measure dioxins in the air, are in Barcelona: Laboratory IDAEA-CSIC and Institut Coefficients of Sarrià. Why has the Basque Government not sent the samples to these laboratories that offer more guarantees at European level?
ENAC explains on its website why tests and calibrations should be carried out in accredited laboratories: "If the maximum guarantees of technical skills are to be obtained without taking risks, accredited laboratories must be taken, as they have proved to have the necessary technical capacity. In contrast, in the case of laboratories without accreditation, it is only based on the trust that the laboratory can generate to the person".
Begoña Jiménez Luque, who works at the CSIC in Madrid, was in charge of explaining the results of the dioxin analyses received at the Zaldibar landfill. The newspaper El Mundo asked him on February 19 why the tests were carried out at the CSIC laboratory in Madrid if the person accredited to carry them out is from Barcelona. Answer: "We too have the same ability to do these analytics," he added. According to his statements, the Madrid laboratory does not have a certificate of ENAC for accreditation. In his appearance in the press on February 18, Jiménez himself explained that these tests are very complex: "Analytical techniques are very complex and require very sophisticated instrumentation: the one with the highest spectrometric resolution".
Given that they are so complex to carry out these analyses, and knowing that the Zaldibar garbage leap and the subsequent fire have generated great mistrust towards the health and pollution control systems, why has the government not taken the tests to an accredited and credible laboratory in the European Union? What results would he have obtained if he had carried out studies of dioxins and furans by a laboratory approved for this purpose?
What is that accreditation?
Internationally, accreditation is a tool to build confidence in the technical capacity of clinical laboratories, following international standards UNE-EN ISO 15189. The accreditation indicates that the laboratory that has received it correctly performs the so-called Conformity Assessment Activities: tests, calibration, inspection, certification, verification, etc.
This accreditation is regulated by Regulation 765/2008 of the European Union and in each State only one entity is authorised to grant it. In the Spanish state is ENAC.
"But it may be ISO certified"...
ENAC explains on its website that there are two things ISO certification and this accreditation. "The ISO 9001 certified organisation proves that its quality management system meets the requirements set by ISO 9001. But whoever is accredited by ENAC has proven competent to carry out the evaluation of such accredited activities and, in particular, complies with international standards for laboratories".
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