Principles for an Effective Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Programme

1. Information needs must be defined first and the monitoring programme designed to meet them.

2. Adequate financial support must then be obtained.

3. The type (river, lake, reservoir, wetland, ground water) and trophic state (oligotrophic to hypertrophic) of the water body must be fully documented through preliminary surveys, particularly the spatial and temporal variability within the whole water body.

4. The appropriate components (water, particulate matter, biota) must be chosen.

5. The parameters, type of samples, sampling frequency and station location must be chosen carefully with respect to the information needs.

6. The field equipment and laboratory facilities must be selected in relation to the information needs.

7. A complete and operational data treatment scheme must be established.

8. Monitoring the quality of the aquatic environment must be coupled with the appropriate hydrological monitoring.

9. The quality of data must be regularly checked through internal and external controls.

10. The data should be given to decision makers not as a list of parameters and their values, but interpreted and assessed by experts with relevant recommendations for management action.

11. The programme must be evaluated periodically, especially if the general situation or any particular influence on the environment is changed, either naturally or by measures taken in the catchment area.

12. Effective collaboration mechanisms are also required between monitoring jurisdictions (local, regional, basin, and national levels.)

Different health requirements and water uses need different degrees of water quality. The needs of an aquatic ecosystem are the most important. If the ecosystem is healthy, then the others fall into place. The suite of substances that can be monitored are:

GEMS/Food

Since 1976, the Global Environment Monitoring System - Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme, which is commonly known as GEMS/Food, has informed governments, the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other relevant institutions, as well as the public, on levels and trends of contaminants in food, their contribution to total human exposure, and significance with regard to public health and trade. The programme is implemented by the WHO in cooperation with a network of more than 30 WHO Collaborating Centres and recognized national institutions located all around the world.

The GEMS/Food programme also involves national experts in more than 100 countries working to collect and to analyse data and information to support the food risk assessment process.

Several important streams of data related to food consumption and food contamination are included in GEMS/Food:

1) Per capita food consumption: GEMS/Food has developed supra-national model diets which are currently used for predicting dietary intake of various chemicals according to internationally accepted methodologies (EHC 40). GEMS/Food Diets are based on per capita data compiled by (FAO). These data provide statistics on a country's annual food production, imports and exports.

2) Individual food consumption: Table that compiles individual levels of food consumption for average and high consumers based on national surveys. This information is used mainly to assess exposure to food chemical presenting a potential acute risk for human health.

3) Concentration of chemicals in food: Database on the level of chemicals in raw food commodities as well as in food as consumed by final consumer.

Food contamination monitoring is an essential component of assuring the safety of food supplies and managing health risks at the international level. The GEMS/Food database is open to Competent Authorities to submit and share their data on food surveillance and monitoring.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30