We are FCC - Nº9

water Guarantee of reliability and rigour The new laboratory has adapted to the requirements of the new ISO 17025/2017 standard, an interna- tional reference standard for eva- luating and declaring the compe- tence of a laboratory. This ENAC accreditation guarantees the hi- ghest level of competence and re- liability of analytical results. In addition, the laboratory is re- cognized by the Ministry of Health and Health Services of Asturias as an independent private laboratory for analysis and sanitary control of food, water and beverages with re- ference LAB 12-O. Advanced equipment The laboratory incorporates new equipment to expand its analytical capacity, reaching 280,000 analyti- cal determinations this year, which means analysing one parameter every 22 seconds approximately. Some of the new equipment acqui- red includes: • 1 liquid chromatograph valued at 266,000 euros. • 2 Gas chromatographs valued at 363,000 euros. • Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) equipment, a technique that makes it possible to determi- ne and quantify most of the ele- ments of the periodic table worth 133,000 euros. • Equipment for measuring envi- ronmental radioactivity (242,000 euros). • In order to meet the high demand for sample preservation, the la- boratory has been equipped with a temperature-controlled refrige- ration chamber with a capacity of around 50 m³. address new requirements such as those foreseen in the future drin- king water directive. Thanks to these improvements, Aqualia has doubled its analysis capacity to 280,000 parameters. The current staff of 16 professio- nals has also been reinforced, of which nine are university gradua- tes and the other seven are univer- sity technicians, and in accordance with Aqualia’s equality policies, it has a female quota of 75% of the workforce. After nine months of work, the building has been adapted so as to facilitate access by people with diminished mobility thanks to the removal of barriers and steps and the installation of an elevator. The ground floor has been fitted for training purposes, both for com- pany personnel and for the labora- tory’s external training activities. As part of this training commitment, the company has collaboration agreements with the Official Co- llege of Chemists of Asturias and León for internships by graduates. Aqualia also has an agreement in force with the University of Oviedo, and specifically with the Faculty of Chemistry, by virtue of which a significant number of its students have already carried out interns- hips in our laboratory. Likewise, internships are carried out on a regular basis by students in higher cycles Professional Trai- ning II, the Avilés Employment Tra- ining Centre and the Universidad Laboral de Gijón, as part of their training to obtain the degree. “We have made a great human, technical and economic effort to adapt the laboratory to the new re- gulations and to give it a dimension such as to provide the best service to the citizens of Oviedo and to be- come Aqualia’s Central Laboratory in Spain”, commented Santiago Lafuente, Aqualia’s Spanish Direc- tor. “The accreditation of the Natio- nal Accreditation Entity (ENAC), in accordance with ISO 17025/2017, gives the results obtained in the la- boratory international recognition, which places it at a level of exce- llence in capacity, competence and analytical results”. Wenceslao López, the mayor of Oviedo, during his tour of the new Central Laboratory of Oviedo B U S I N E S S 15 B U S I N E S S