National Laboratories

The Science Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network operates six national laboratories at the principal sites of the Network. Together they form a single service: the methods used at each laboratory are validated against the same reference standards, so that measurements are comparable wherever in the Network they are made.

Analytical and calibration services are provided to member organisations and to the departments of the Network. Private individuals may not submit work directly; a request should be made through the member organisation concerned. The Department's environmental measurements are published so that the condition of the Network's air and water is known to all. Instruments are calibrated against the reference standards described on the Reference Standards and Calibration page.

The laboratory register. The register below is maintained by the Department and updated as arrangements change. Each laboratory is under the direction of a head of laboratory, answerable to the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser.

The work of the laboratories. The principal kinds of work undertaken at the laboratories are set out below. Work outside these fields may be accepted where the Department judges that it falls within its responsibilities.

Sample analysis

Chemical analysis of water, materials and contaminants, and biological reference testing. Results are issued as certificates of analysis, stating the method used and its uncertainty.

Materials testing

Testing of the strength, composition and durability of materials, components and structures used by member organisations, including load testing and failure analysis.

Environmental measurement

Continuous measurement of the condition of the Network's air and water at monitoring stations operated by the Environmental Measurement Laboratory. The measurements are published in the Department's statistical releases.

Method development

Development and validation of the analytical methods used across the Network, so that a measurement made at one laboratory agrees with the same measurement made at another.

Submitting work to the laboratories. The steps below apply to every submission of samples for analysis or materials for testing. The separate arrangements for submitting instruments for calibration are set out on the Reference Standards and Calibration page.

1. 1

   Step 1: Write to the Department

   Send the description of the work required, the number and kind of samples or instruments, the site from which they will be sent and the reason the work is needed, to the Department's email address. Enquiries are answered in order of receipt.

2. 2

   Step 2: Receive a submission reference

   The Department confirms by email whether the work can be undertaken, at which laboratory, and the expected date of the result, and issues a submission reference. Requests are normally answered within two working days.

3. 3

   Step 3: Deliver the samples or instruments

   Send the items to the laboratory named in the confirmation, marked with the submission reference. Samples must be labelled and, where they may deteriorate, preserved in the manner the laboratory directs.

4. 4

   Step 4: Receive the certificate

   Results are issued as a certificate of analysis or calibration, bearing the submission reference, the method or standard applied and its uncertainty. Certificates are retained by the Department and may be relied on by the receiving organisation.

Enquiries about the register, including errors in a laboratory's entry, may be sent to contact@science.gov.vin. For the Department's advisory work, see Scientific Advice; for activity and capacity figures, see Statistics; for answers to common questions, see the frequently asked questions.