Confirming whether all laboratories in Turkey operate within the framework of international standards, Turkish Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK) conducted a routine inspection of the Water Quality Center laboratories affiliated to the General Directorate of ASKİ.
ASKİ Deputy General Manager Yılmaz Şengül stated that the audit was concluded successfully and said, “We provide the people of Ankara with clean, high quality and healthy water. Our citizens can safely consume the mains water flowing from the tap in the capital,” he said.
Necmettin Erbakan University Environmental Engineering Department Lecturer Assoc. Dr. A team of 4 people, headed by Fatma Beduk, inspected ASKI Water Quality Center laboratories on behalf of TÜRKAK for 2 days. The accreditation audit, which was carried out on 24-25 November 2022, once again demonstrated the quality adequacy of the laboratories that analyze the treated drinking and utility water of the Capital, according to national and international standards.
Providing information on the audit, Assoc. Dr. Beduk said, “TÜRKAK conducts inspections from time to time to measure the success of laboratories for which it has issued accreditation certificates. As experts in the field, we also evaluate the success of laboratory analysis results. On the last day of the audit, we continue our work with the quality management system.”
“CITIZENS CAN CONSUME WITH SAFE”
Evaluating the audit, ASKİ Deputy General Manager Yılmaz Şengül said:
“ASKİ Water Quality Center is an area of 5 square meters on an area of 700 thousand 800 square meters. We analyze the water coming from the dams that supply drinking and utility water to Ankara in these laboratories. In addition to the bacteria tests, the wastewater of the industrial sector is analyzed according to the parameters of the ASKİ Waste Water Discharge into the Sewerage Network Regulation. With the last audit, TÜRKAK has once again checked whether our laboratories fulfill the requirements of the TS EN ISO/IEC 17025 international standard. In other words, the reliability of the analysis results was checked. The TS EN ISO / IEC 17025 standard is an international standard that covers Laboratory Quality Management System and laboratory technical conditions in general. Thus, it has been demonstrated once again that ASKI laboratories are competent to perform all the specific tests in question. From this point of view, let's underline that Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and ASKİ provide clean, quality and healthy water to the people of Ankara. Our citizens can safely consume the mains water flowing from the tap in the Capital.”
NUMBER OF ANALYSIS PARAMETERS INCREASED FROM 90 TO 190
Reminding that ASKİ laboratories also serve other institutions, organizations and the private sector, Head of Environmental Protection and Watersheds Department Ümit Güven Ulusoy said, “Thanks to the new, technological analysis devices purchased, we have strengthened the infrastructure of our laboratories. As a result, the number of available organic and inorganic 90 accredited parameters increased to 190”.
TARGET 500 NUMBER OF PARAMETERS
Providing drinking water and waste water services to Ankara residents, ASKİ brings together infrastructure works with modern technology every day. This year, R&D studies on organic pollutants were initiated in ASKİ laboratories. It is aimed to increase the number of accredited parameters for analyzes of drinking water, wastewater, soil and sludge matrices to 500 with the new instrumental analysis devices to be purchased with the studies planned next year.
EDUCATION FROM HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY TO LABORATORY STAFF
Meanwhile, ASKİ organizes various trainings for laboratory personnel with an understanding that constantly renews itself. Finally, Hacettepe University Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry Lecturer Prof. Dr. Bekir Salih gave “Applied and Theoretical Instrumental Analysis Training”.
The personnel who successfully completed the training received their certificate from Yılmaz Şengül, Assistant General Manager of ASKİ.
Be the first to comment