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WWEM 2012, the 5^th in a series of highly successful environmental monitoring events, will return to the Telford International Centre on 7^th and 8^th November 2012 to provide visitors with the latest information on regulations, standards, methods and technologies employed in laboratory, field and process monitoring applications.

Organised in conjunction with the Environment Agency and the Water Monitoring Association (WMA), WWEM 2012 is also supported by BMTA, British Water, ChromSoc, CIWEM, CoGDEM, Gambica, PROFIBUS, SIRA, SWIG, UKAS, and UKTI.

 In addition to two major Conferences, WWEM2012 will also provide over 70 Workshops and an Exhibition featuring 120 of the world’s leading organisations in environmental monitoring. Both Conferences have received the approval of The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and will contribute to delegates’ Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

 Process Conference (7^th November)

The first Conference, entitled ‘2012 Update on Regulation and Certification’, has been designed for any municipal or industrial organisation with a discharge consent, in addition to consultants, contractors, instrument manufacturers, regulators, academia and researchers.

 The opening presentation will be given by John Tipping, Technical Manager: Operator Self-Monitoring, at the Environment Agency (EA) who will provide an update on the Industrial Emissions Directive and outline its regulatory effects through 2013.

 Andrew Chappell, also from the EA, will continue the European theme by explaining the advantages of coordinating instrument certification procedures and test methods with other countries. He will also report on recent work to develop a CEN standard based on the current MCERTS procedures for the assessment of water instruments.

 As MCERTS gains a greater hold in the water sector, Bob Cooper from SIRA will review MCERTS’ progress and explain future developments. He will also outline a number of case studies demonstrating international recognition of the scheme.

 The potential impact of solar radiation on ultrasonic level sensors will be discussed by Andy Godley from WRc and the EA’s Rick Gould will deliver the final presentation, outlining the development of Operator Monitoring Assessment (OMA).

 Laboratory Conference (8^th November)

For the second time, the WWEM laboratory conference, which will take place on the second day of WWEM 2012, is being organised by the British Measurement and Testing Association (BMTA) which represents the interests of over 400 UKAS accredited laboratories. The Conference, entitled: ‘Advances in Measurements in Environmental Laboratories’, incorporates an impressive list of speakers from UKAS, FERA, water companies and commercial laboratories.

 BMTA Director Peter Russell says: “The subject matter has been designed primarily for managers and senior staff in environmental laboratories, but the techniques and quality procedures discussed will be of interest to staff in all types of laboratory. The presentations will deal with the methods of achieving quality and consistency in both sampling and measurement, and I hope that the 2012 event will be as popular as its predecessor.”

 Accreditation by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the key to ensuring that consumers, suppliers, purchasers and specifiers can have confidence in the quality of the services that laboratories provide and Jon Murthy will provide an overview of UKAS accreditation, setting out its value to those with accreditation; to customers using accredited services and to the UK economy as a whole.

 David Galsworthy from the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) will give a presentation on a new software application that provides laboratories with statistical analysis of analytical quality control samples, leading to better monitoring of instrument and analytical performance, thereby improving the charting, reporting and auditing of AQC samples to meet DWI, UKAS and other regulatory requirements. Kim Holt and Phil Goddard have employed the software at South West Water and will explain how the key challenges have been overcome. Topics will include lifecycle testing/validation of software and validation of laboratories, test methods and laboratory software. 

 Mark Handcock, from Thames Water, will also address the issue of quality in the laboratory and Hazel Davidson will explain why an emphasis on laboratory analysis and quality control can be irrelevant if the sampling is not performed correctly. Prof. Clive Thompson will discuss the various ISO and CEN cyanide methods and provide guidance on how to carry out ‘fit for purpose’ analysis of various forms of cyanide in environmental samples.

 Workshops

Over 70 workshops will be available during the event and whilst visitors will not have to reserve places; they will have to plan their visit carefully in order to ensure that they attend the most relevant workshops and conference presentations, whilst also allocating time to visit the exhibition.

The workshops will cover a broad spectrum of environmental monitoring topics.  For example, there will be presentations on the monitoring of groundwater and on high resolution multi-site monitoring of surface water to inform the development of legislation. Several workshops will examine wastewater sampling and monitoring, and others will look at ways to improve energy efficiency in wastewater treatment.  There will be presentations on laboratory automation and on liquid handling systems, as well as quality assurance in the laboratory and several of the workshops will cover subjects such as calibration and the use of traceable reference standards. Almost all of the most common water quality parameters will be discussed with specific presentations on TOC, COD, pH, colour, DO, ammonia, toxicity, turbidity, odour, SVOCs and metals. Water level and flow monitoring techniques will also be discussed in addition to telemetry and data transmission.

 The Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring (CoGDEM) is helping to organise the gas detection zone, which will also run a programme of workshops covering the latest technologies, sampling, calibration, and the benefits to be gained from monitoring toxic, combustible or explosive gases.

 International Exhibition

The 2012 exhibition will be even larger than its predecessors with around 120 organisations displaying the latest products and services for the environmental testing and monitoring market, including several that will have recently received MCERTS.

 The exhibitors in the gas detection zone will focus on new technology and products to detect hazards such as exposure to low oxygen levels in confined spaces and to toxic and flammable gases in the workplace.

New at WWEM 2012

This year’s event will see the launch of more new products than ever before, with many companies unveiling new monitoring technologies and YSI Hydrodata will launch a new company; Xylem Analytics UK Ltd will combine the market leading technologies of YSI, SONTEK, AADI and WTW. Many of Xylem Anlaytics’ latest technologies will be on display including the new YSI EXO multiparameter sonde, the SonTek IQ shallow water flow meter and the WTW Varion with IQ for ammonium and nitrate measurements.

 Envitech will launch a new ammonia monitor and controller and OTT Hydrometry will unveil a new groundwater monitor, a new portable flow meter and a new range of dataloggers. 

 Pollution & Process Monitoring Ltd will launch their latest Proam ammonia technology for reliable continuous wastewater analysis. Isodaq Technology will demonstrate their new Tadpole GPRS logger for monitoring remote sites in harsh environments and Intellitect Water will reveal the success that the company’s unique in-pipe monitoring technology has achieved in effluent ammonia monitoring.

 ProMinent Fluid Controls (UK) Ltd, the chemical fluid handling specialist, will launch the new DulcoFlow flow meter and Nitto Kohki will present a full range of air, gas and liquid pumps including the unique ‘Bimor’ piezoelectric pump with no moving parts and the new DP0410 pump which offers up to 18 l/min air flow and 1.8bar pressure at 12vDC.

 HACH LANGE’s process monitoring booth will focus on the company’s most recent MCERTS awards in addition to the company’s real-time wastewater treatment optimisation solution (W.T.O.S.) which has been receiving rave reviews by companies that have installed the system – 25% reduction in energy use has been commonplace.

 STS Instruments Ltd will showcase their novel solution for the identification and quantification of organic pollution using the SMF4, a portable fluorimeter and VEGA will exhibit their new non-contact microwave radar level transmitter.

 New remote monitoring applications for WWEM 2012 will include the SeSys high resolution digital IP cameras which enable utility companies to protect assets and monitor processes, and examples from Ashtead Technology’s fleet of rental infrared cameras will be demonstrated – typical applications include energy efficiency investigations, checking electrical equipment, predictive maintenance of mechanical equipment and remote measurement of level inside tanks.

 In the gas zone, Gardner Denver Thomas will launch the next generation of miniature air sampling pumps including the 1010 reciprocating diaphragm pump and Gas Measurement Instruments will show the new PS200, which they claim is the most flexible gas detector on the market.

 Enviro Technology is showcasing ‘electronic nose’ technology for waste odour monitoring and with over 65,000 gas monitors across thousands of customer sites currently operating on iNet® – Industrial Scientific will demonstrate this web-based application for managing an organisation’s entire gas detector fleet.                    

 Amongst the exhibitors in the laboratory sector, ESSLAB will launch the new MicroLab 600 liquid handling system for the preparation of samples and standards. HACH LANGE will unveil the new DR3900 spectrophotometer which offers extremely high levels of accuracy, reliability, traceability and quality assurance and Palintest has promised to pack their stand with new innovations including a new range of electrochemical instruments and a new Compact Turbimeter.