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Chemical Laboratory


IPAC ACCREDITATION

In June of 1998, the Pego Laboratory received the certificate of accreditation (certificate L.235) for analyses of coal, from the I nstituto Portugu ês de Acreditação (Portuguese Accreditation Institute) .
In August of 2002, the laboratory received an extension of this accreditation to cover analyses of ash.


What is accreditation ?

The accreditation of a Laboratory is the recognition of its technical competence to supply services in conformity with certain standards or technical specifications, taking into account m eans of measurement, overall conditions, organisation, management and personnel.
The evaluation is carried out by the Instituto Português de Acreditação which, based on Norm NP EN ISO/IEC 17025:2005 – General competency requirements for laboratories carrying out trials and calibration – makes the accreditation and, through regular audits, monitors the Laboratory’s performance. It can, at any time, suspend the accreditation if any serious non-conformity is detected .


What is the accreditation for?

Any Certification (environmental, quality, safety, etc.) provides evidence of performance, thus enhancing the credibility of the results and establishes, on the part of clients, authorities, shareholders and public in general, greater trust and confidence in the service provided.


Culture of Quality

The accreditation of the laboratory is found within a certain policy of culture of quality assumed by Pegop during the implementation of all its activities, thus contributing to:

• greater reliability in the calculation of efficiency
• support in negotiations concerning the purchase of coal and sale of ash
• trust on the part of environmental authorities with respect to the control of the sulphur content of coal (which is an imposition of the license)
• support of the EMAS and ISO 14001 certifications with respect to public trust in the results of the emissions published in the environmental summary

Laboratory accreditation is thus part of a whole series of quality activities which includes the environment, safety and management, in provision of evidence of quality and excellence.