The Environmental Health and Safety Directorate of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA-SL)has conducted a two-day training manual for effective environmental laboratory operations for staff in the Northern, Eastern, and Southern regional offices.
As outlined in our Act of 2022 and the Environment Protection Agency Transformation Strategy (EPATS), the training goals complement institutional capacity and the improvement of our regulatory activities. As we create an environmentally safe future for Sierra Leone, the agency would be able to establish itself as a hub for reliable environmental monitoring data from field to final report and a catalyst for technical guidance with the help of data and technical knowledge.
Opening the training, the deputy director of Environmental Health and Safety, Osman Baimba Koroma, said the credibility of the agency’s work depends on the quality and accuracy of data collected from the field.
“In order to provide reliable data that informs our recommendations and keeps the EIA rules continuously in check as proponents fulfil their mandated reporting duties, it is crucial that staff members comprehend the capacity necessary to regulate mining and other industrial proponents”, he added.
The training included presentations on effective methods for gathering, preparing, analysing, and reporting data.
Additionally, there were lectures on Environmental Sample Collection & Field Procedures, Introduction to Environmental Laboratory Operations & Quality Systems, and Sample Reception, Preparation & Basic Laboratory Techniques.
Throughout, emphasis was placed on the safe handling of chemical reagents, the use of monitoring equipment, and appropriate sample techniques.These are essential to our function as a regulatory agency that regularly monitors proponents with valid EIA licenses and permits.
Following hands-on usage demonstrations, four monitoring devices—a sound meter, a PH and conductivity meter, a storage solution, buffer/standard solutions, a GPS, and a cleaning solution—were handed over.
We concluded with a renewed sense of purpose that the impacts would be evidenced by our ongoing generation of reliable data as we carry out environmental protection initiatives around the country.
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