UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.) announced that it has won a contract from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test samples from small public water systems serving 10,000 people or fewer for contaminants listed in the third cycle of the EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 3) program.
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA identifies a new list of contaminants suspected in public water systems that may warrant regulation every five years. The UCMR program is designed to provide data to the EPA to help determine whether new regulations are needed to protect public health. Since the inception of the UCMR program in 2001, UL has supported the EPA in this effort.
During a 12-month period from January 2013 through December 2015, approximately 800 EPA-selected small public water systems serving 10,000 or fewer people will be required to monitor for 21 contaminants and 480 EPA-selected small systems will be required to monitor for seven additional contaminants.
“UL is pleased to be recognized again by the EPA as a superior laboratory services provider,” said Hank Lambert, general manager of UL Global Food and Water Businesses. “With our extensive experience working with the EPA in the past and our scientific expertise, it was clear that UL was the right partner to assist with the third UCMR program for small systems. Public safety is a major priority and through this effort we are able to work toward ensuring a safe, clean water supply for all.”
UL is approved by the EPA to perform all methods required for UCMR 3 List 1 and List 2 contaminants. Over the past 20 years, UL has analyzed more than 2.5 million water samples for thousands of bottlers, public water systems, engineering firms and state and federal agencies, such as the EPA and military. UL is also accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for delivering the widest range of testing and certification services for water product manufacturers.
Source: Underwriters Laboratories
