Eurofins Eaton Selected By US Environmental Protection Agency To Provide Water Quality Testing

Eurofins announces that Eurofins Eaton Analytical, the leading U.S. water testing laboratory, has been selected by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide water quality testing services to communities with populations below 10,000 people. The EPA-funded contract has a potential value of over USD 8m.

As part of the EPA-funded contract, Eurofins Eaton Analytical will provide testing services for small systems according to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation 3 (UCMR3). UCMR3 is a federal monitoring requirement sponsored by the EPA as part of a program that investigates chemical, radiological and microbiological contaminant occurrence in an effort to characterise threats to drinking water. Approximately 800 small water systems serving U.S. communities with populations of less than 10,000 people will be required by the EPA to comply with this requirement, starting January 2013.  Eurofins Eaton Analytical was the first laboratory approved by the EPA for all analytical methods to provide large-system testing (communities with more than 10,000 people) and has already been selected by nearly 100 large utilities to provide analytical support for all required UCMR3 methods.

Comment from Dr. Gilles Martin, CEO: "This contract with the largest national environmental agency in the world validates Eurofins Eaton Analytical's technical expertise and leadership in the field of public water testing. Additionally, it is an exciting opportunity to expand our share of the US water testing market going forward".

In the US, only EPA-approved laboratories can perform UCMR3 monitoring. Eurofins Eaton Analytical is currently approved for all seven UCMR3 analytical methods (EPA Methods 200.8, 218.7, 300.1, 524.3, 522, 537, and 539). UCMR3 was established under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring (UCM) program, which the EPA uses to collect data for contaminants suspected to be present in drinking water, but that do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The five-year, cyclical monitoring program allows the EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water (OGWDW) to base future decisions regarding contaminant regulation on sound science, and is then revised at the end of each five-year cycle. For more information, visit www.eurofins.com

About  Eurofins
Eurofins Scientific is the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. It is also number one in the world in the field of environmental laboratory services and one of the global market leaders in agroscience, genomics and central laboratory services.

With over 12,500 staff in more than 170 laboratories across 33 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 100,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and products. The Group provides its customers with high-quality services, accurate results on time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

Eurofins is committed to pursuing its dynamic growth strategy by expanding both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and the most comprehensive range of testing methods.

As one of the most innovative and quality oriented international players in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients' increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the expanding demands of regulatory authorities around the world.