The event, which took place at Ispra in Italy, brought together 16 participating bodies from 14 different countries. This exercise allows evaluation of the quality of measurement from each participant during implementation of reference methods for the measurement of gaseous pollutants prescribed according to current standards specified in the current regulatory reference system.
The LCSQA, in addition to acting as the national reference laboratory and in accordance with the mission defined in the decree of 19 April 2017, is responsible for ensuring the accuracy and quality of data generated by the national monitoring system. The CIL inter-laboratory comparisons (comparaisons inter-laboratoires, CIL) are a key instrument in terms of quality control which additionally allows for improvement of practices and identification of areas for improvement that need to be addressed. The comparisons constitute a reliable and effective means of verifying the proper functioning of the air quality monitoring system in France, and of ensuring the quality of the resulting measurements. In this way the LCSQA participates, via its members, at least once every three years in CIL exercises designated for the national reference laboratories throughout the European Union, and organized by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre for the analysis of all regulated pollutants.
This year, Ineris was one of 16 participating bodies in the CIL exercise for gaseous inorganic pollutants (CO, NOx, SO2, O3), which brought together the following 14 European countries: Belgium, Hungary, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Slovakia, Sweden, Croatia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, United Kingdom and France. In order to host all of the participations, two sessions were organized on 13 to 17 May, then 20 to 24 May.
This participation also addresses the requirements of the NF EN ISO/CEI 17025 standard - general requirements concerning the expertise of calibration and testing laboratories - for which Ineris has been certified, for oxides of nitrogen (NO/NO2), ozone (O3), and for PM10 and PM2.5.
