AnalysisMethodsforWaterQualityEvaluationAppliedinE

51OriginalarticleAnalysisMethodsforWaterQualityEvaluation,AppliedinEnvironmentalLaboratory,ICIAROMANCecilia,B.ABRAHAM,ErikaLEVEI,M.SENILA,MirelaMICLEAN,C.TANASELIAINCDOINOE2000,ResearchInstituteforAnalyticalInstrumentation,67Donath,400293,Cluj-Napoca,RomaniaReceived15April2009;receivedandrevisedform12May2009;accepted21May2009Availableonline15August2009AbstractDuetohumanactivities,globalscalepollutionoftheenvironmenthasincreasedsignificantlyinthelasttwocenturies.Inthelastdecades,itwasacknowledgedthatpopulationhealthisstrictlyconnectedwithenvironmentquality.Astheinfluenceofanthropogenicfactorsonwatersourcesqualityincreased,thewaterqualityassessmenthasarolethat’sbecomemoreandmoreimportant.LaboratoryforEnvironmentAnalysis(LAM)fromResearchInstituteforAnalyticalInstrumentationisaccreditedaccordingtotheSRENISO/CEI17025:2005,byRomanianAccreditationAssociationandhasalltherequiredresourcedforqualityanalysisofenvironmentalsamples.AnalyticaltechniquesusedintheLaboratoryforEnvironmentAnalysisforwaterqualitydeterminationare:GasChromatography,LiquidChromatography,IonChromatography,FlameorFurnaceAtomicAbsorptionSpectrometry,InductivelyCoupledOpticalEmissionSpectrometry,UV/VISSpectrophotometry,pHmetry,Potentiometry,Conductometry,TitrimetryandGravimetry.Keywords:Waterquality,ICPOES,ICPMS,LAM1.IntroductionEnvironmentalpollutionconsistsinthealterationoftheenvironmentfactorsandoriginatesfromnaturalsources(floods,volcaniceruption,powerfulstormsandfires)oranthropogenicsources(industrialandagriculturalactivities).Themaincausesforanthropogenicpollutionarethechaoticuseofnaturalreserves;accumulationofnon-usablesubstances,productionCorrespondingauthor.Tel:[phone],Fax:[e-mail],forwhichconsumptionandrecyclerateisinferiortoproductionrate;highdemographicgrowth,especiallyinthelasttwocenturies;intenseindustrialdevelopment;transportationandagriculture;developmentofoverpopulatedcities[1].Waterpollutionisacomplexprocesswhichleadstochangesinwatercomposition,aquaticfloraandfaunadamage,andmayleadtoaninappropriatewaterqualitystateforeconomicalorrecreationaluse,beingdangerousforhumanhealth.Availableonlineat(2009)51-5452ROMANCeciliaetal./ProEnvironment2(2009)51-54Waterpollutionwithorganicsubstancesisduetodomesticwastewaters,cellulose,paperandfoodindustrysewagesandagriculture.Inthewatersthewasteisdegradedbybacteria,thus,ahighamountoforganicwastedetermineshighbacterialgrowththatuseoxygenandfurthercausedeathoffishandotheraquaticlifeforms.Pollutionwithtoxicsubstancesoriginatesfromindustrialsourcesandespeciallyfromchemical,miningandsmeltingindustry.Oneofmainproblemforthistypeofpollutionisthehightoxicityofthesewastes.Pollutionwithnutrients(nitrates,phosphates)causestheeutrophicationofwatersduetotheincreasethealgaepopulation,whichdecomposesquickly,usinghighamountsofoxygen[2,3].Duetotheincreasinginfluenceoftheanthropogenicfactorsonthewatersources,waterqualityassessmenthasagreatimportance.2.MethodsandtechniquesappliedinLAMTheResearchInstituteforAnalyticalInstrumentation,ICIA,wasestablished20yearsago,havingasitsmainobjectofactivitytheresearch,designandrealizationofanalyticallaboratoryinstruments,aswellastheelaborationofanalyticalmethodsforalargerangeofsamplestypes.TogetherwiththedevelopmentoftheInstituteandfollowingtherequestsonexpertiseinvariousfields,thesepreoccupationshaveextendedtowardsprogramsonenvironment,health,technologicalmodernizationsandcleantechnologies.TheInstituteholdsaremarkableendowmentthatcorrespondstothemultidisciplinarycharacterofresearch,designandspecificexecutionofitsworkingteams.TheInstitutehasseveralresearchlaboratoriesinchemistry,analyticalchemistry,spectroscopyaswellasdesign,mechanicandelectronicexecutionworkshops.Thisstructureallowsthetacklingofaprojectonthewhole,fromtheresearchstageuptotheprototypeelaborationstage.TheinstitutehaveimplementedandcertifiedQualitySystemforthewholeICIAactivity,accordingtoISO9001:2000.TheactivitydirectionsoftheInstituteare:•Research-designinthefollowingfields:environments,health,cleantechnologies,bio-energy,biomass,spectrometryandanalyticalinstrumentation.•TechnologyTransferaimingtoconsolidateanddevelopment,ofanationalnetworkoftechnologycentersinthefieldsofenvironment,medicalinstrumentation,alimentationandnonconventionalenergies,aimingatboththevalorificationoftheR&Dresultsintheabovementionedfieldsandatthelongtermsocio-economicdevelopmentofthecountry,bystrengtheningtheSMEssegment;•ChemicalAnalysesintheLaboratoryforEnvironmentalAnalyses,whichwasaccreditedwithSRENISO/CEI17025:2005referencebytheRomanianAccreditationAssociation(RENAR).IntheLaboratory,onehasimplementedthedocumentsoftheQualitySystem,accordingtotheSRENISO/CEI17025:2001referential.TheLaboratorypossessesallthenecessaryresourcesforperformingqualityanalyses:climatizedrooms,measurementinstrumentsandequipmentsthataremetrologicaltestedandcalibrated;qualityreagents;qualityassurancemethodsfortheanalysisresults;highlyqualifiedandexperiencedpersonnelinthefieldofe