MCERTS
MCERTS 2009
Conference, Exhibition & Workshops – Wednesday 29th & Thursday 30th April 2009
Come and mix with leading equipment and service suppliers who will advise on the latest products and services for all aspects of air emission monitoring. With over 70 workshops to attend over the 2 day event, visitors can access a wealth of information on technology, products and training. MCERTS 2009 is an ideal opportunity to network with fellow Process Operators, Consultants, Equipment Suppliers and Regulators.
ALcontrol On-Site Services will be exhibiting on both days and would very much like to see you there. For advice, assistance and information come and chat with one friendly representatives on Exhibition Stand 8.
For further information and to register for a visitor pass, please click here.
The first Environment Agency MCERTS scheme was introduced during 1998, this covered the certification of Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems. It is now widely recognised as the 'Gold Standard' of the emissions monitoring industry.
The standard covers 'extractive stack emission monitoring instruments' and 'cross-stack or in situ monitoring instruments' and focused initially on large combustion plant, incinerators and processes using solvents. The first certificates were issued in 1999 for systems supplied by a number of UK manufacturers. The STA has worked closely with the Environment Agency to develop MCERTS and now provides technical support on behalf of SIRA, the MCERTS scheme operator.
In 2002 the first MCERTS certificates for manual stack monitoring were issued.
In order to gain certification organisations/companies were required to:
- Be accredited to ISO 17025 for the MCERTS standard
- Have accreditation carried out by UKAS
- Have accreditation very similar to normal UKAS procedures
- Allow UKAS to feedback to the Environment Agency on Health & Safety, plus other observations or concerns not directly covered by the assessment
- Have an Agency/UKAS Memorandum of Understanding
In addition to the above, Staff within the organisation all require personal certification.
The staff certification scheme has three levels of competency:
- MCERTS entry level (trainee) = supervised working “on the job” training
- MCERTS Level 1 = Basic competency and understanding of monitoring
- MCERTS Level 2 = Advanced Level of competency and understanding, this effectively provides 'Team Leader' status, able to supervise trainees and oversee Level 1 staff as well as being fully competent to conduct stack emission monitoring without supervision
All ALcontrol's Team Leaders have gained MCERTS Level 2 and our systems ensure that client site work is conducted only by Team Leaders with the Technical Endorsements relevant for the specific job.
MCERTS has become a mandatory requirement in recent PPC permits issued to process operators.
The Scheme benefits include:
- MCERTS delivers a certification scheme that is both accepted and formally recognised globally.
- It provides assurance to regulatory authorities that equipment and services approved to MCERTS standards are suitable, and capable of producing results of the * It gives users, both of monitoring equipment and stack emissions monitoring services, confidence that equipment and results certified to MCERTS are robust and conform to performance standards related to current international standards.
- It supports the delivery of accurate and reliable data to regulators and the public.
- It provides a framework whereby further monitoring instrumentation and other aspects of compliance monitoring can be formally certified.
- It meets the growing requirements of EU Directives, which increasingly specify that periodic and monitoring systems must meet minimum performance requirements.
