DES MOINES – Environmental laboratories play an important part in protecting our public health and the environment.
Many cities, counties and industrial facilities send samples to laboratories for pollutant testing.
“Test kits and field kits are useful, but any data used for environmental compliance purposes must be analyzed by a certified lab,” said Kathy Lee, coordinator of DNR’s lab certification program. “Certified laboratories must follow quality control procedures and use approved methods for analyzing pollutants.”
Test results help ensure:
- public drinking water is safe
- wastewater treatment protects Iowa’s lakes and streams
- environmental controls at landfills and underground storage tanks are functioning properly
- acceptable clean up occurs after a pollution spill.
Every two years, Iowa audits certified laboratories to confirm they are producing valid data. DNR currently certifies 146 Iowa labs and 37 out–of-state labs.