Testing offered
SMTL is able to provide a comprehensive water testing service to anyone wishing to monitor the quality of their water supply on a weekly, quarterly or annual basis and to show that their machines are operating efficiently.
The chemical water tests offered include pH, conductivity, hardness, total dissolved solids, chloride, iron, heavy metals, phosphate and silicate.
Endotoxin analysis of water (endotoxin analysis).
Microbiological water tests include Total Viable Count Testing, tests for environmental mycobacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella.
For further information, or a quotation, please contact: biological@smtl.co.uk
Relevant Standards
Welsh Health Technical Memorandum (WHTM) 01-01 - Decontamination of medical devices within acute services
Welsh Health Technical Memorandum (WHTM) 01-06 - Decontamination of flexible endoscopes
Decontamination of surgical instruments (HTM 01-01) Part D Washer disnfectors
Management and decontamination of flexible endoscopes (HTM 01-06) Part E Decontamination of flexible endoscopes: testing methods
BS EN ISO 15883-4:2006 Washer-Disinfectors - Part 4:Requirements and tests for washer-disinfectors employing chemical disinfection for thermolabile endoscopes
Reasons for testing
Water of the specified chemical and microbial quality is essential for the optimum efficiency of any process. Water containing a high concentration of dissolved solids can reduce the activity of the chemicals used which may result in scaling and ultimately corrosion of the items being processed whilst water containing high numbers of micro-organisms may recontaminate the disinfected items.
In addition to the human demand for water, in drinking supplies, water is used widely in industry and in the National Health Service in a number of different applications. Water, for example, may serve as a transporter of energy in steam generating plants whilst it may also form an integral part in production processes such as for rinsing surgical instruments and endoscopes after decontamination in washer/disinfectors used in hospital sterile services and endoscopy departments respectively.
