Examination of Agency laboratory potential

The APAT and the environmental agency system have started a process for implementing Law no. 93/01. This provides to:

• identify priorities;
• set guidelines for the preparation of projects;
• draw up proposals by environmental agencies;
• evaluate projects (through the evaluation committee established at the Ministry of Environment and Land Protection), following them up until they are approved and started.

Priorities were identified by APAT and the environmental agency system by means of an “ad hoc” questionnaire. This was submitted to all environmental agencies on the national territory.
The survey had the aim of identifying the national analytical potential in facing requirements provided for by environmental regulations.
The questionnaire was divided into three parts. The first part intended to identify priorities to strengthen the environmental agency laboratory system and adapt analytical and instrumental capacities while the second part was aimed at identifying the first nodes for the establishment of an agency system laboratory network.
The first part of the questionnaire refers to chemical and biological parameters identified by regulations in force.These include measurements for non-ionizing radiations (Legislative Decree no.152/99 and Legislative Decree no.258/2000 for surface water; Legislative Decree no.152/99, Legislative Decree no.258/2000 and Ministerial Decree no.471/99 for underground waters; Legislative Decree no.351/99 and Ministerial Decree no.60/2002 for air quality measurements; Presidential Decree no. 203/88 for atmospheric emissions and Ministerial Decree no. 471/99 for soils). They also include decisions for the characterization of waste and electromagnetic radiation measurements.
The questionnaire, based on regulation requirements, requested for: the number of parameters checked by agency laboratories; the number of analyzed samples in the year of reference (2001); the type of methods (normed, official or of other nature); the existence of accredited laboratory tests; the existence of agency procedures for environmental sampling and proposals for activities to be carried out within the framework of projects financed by Law no. 93/2001.
The processing of answers to the questionnaire is an issue that regards sample collection regulations.
Therefore, these analyses do not include data on:air quality monitoring, emission monitoring and control (by means of direct measurements) and electromagnetic radiation monitoring and control. The analysis of questionnaires highlighted that 105,100 environmental samples were analyzed in the year of reference (2001). The analysis was carried out in 19 agencies, since 2 agencies did not indicate the number of samples analyzed. The origin of the samples is reported in figure 1.

View Figure 1. Percentage of different environmental matrices over the total number of samples analyzed in 2001.

Considering the number of assessments required by regulations in force for each environmental matrix sample, each year all laboratories of the environmental agency system carry out several million tests.
Figure 2 shows the distribution of samples analyzed in 2001, according to the environmental matrix and divided into geographical areas of the country. The processing of questionnaire data at regional level is not possible, since these could take even other parameters into account such as territory use, territory extension, existing population and productive settlements.

View Figure 2. Percentage of analyzed samples according to geographical area and origin.

According to the questionnaire, there are 113 ARPA/APPA agency laboratories existing in Italy. A laboratory is intended as the whole laboratory structure of the Department to which they belong, without distinguishing between the different specializations.

View Figure 3. Number of ARPA/APPA laboratories in Italy in 2001.

The processing of information retrieved from questionnaires and the requests for training and laboratory equipment advanced by agencies in the South of Italy and the islands, led to the identification of 8 different projects. These were aimed at strengthening laboratories of the environmental agency system. The second part of the questionnaire was mainly aimed at identifying laboratories that would become network nodes for the following tests:

• assessment of PCB (polychlorobiphenyls), PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), dioxins and furans for the different environmental matrices;
• assessment of plant protection products in environmental matrices and assessment of asbestos in environmental matrices.
  

The questionnaire requested agencies to indicate the analytical potential and investment programmes for these types of tests.
Questionnaire responses by ARPA/APPA agencies therefore do not only include laboratories that currently carry out the above indicated tests but also agencies that have already allocated fuds for such structures.
The analysis of data contained in questionnaires also confirmed the previously identified priorities and highlighted the existence of 9 laboratories in Italy which carry out or which are implementing tools and personnel for dioxin/furan tests and about 60 laboratories for plant protection product, PCB and IPA tests.
This project also led to the identification of 3 different themes for projects related to the same area, as identified by the Decree of the Ministry of Environment and Land Protection of October, 2002 which implemented Law no. 93/2001.

View Figure 4. Number of laboratories which carry out PCB, IPA, plant protection product and dioxin tests by geographical area.

The need to have an efficient laboratory network for the whole environmental agency system and the need to establish a harmonized prototype for the Quality System of ARPA/APPA agency laboratories led to the identification of two more project lines involving all project areas considered so far.

• The first project line aims at providing the whole environmental agency system with an information system that can be used to manage operational capacities in terms of tests, methods, laboratory structures and quality system implementation.
• The second line has the objective of developing a quality system prototype shared among all environmental agencies of the system.