ST. LUCIA – St. Lucia is presently hosting a three-day workshop for regional and international chemical metrology experts.
The St. Lucia Bureau of Standards is facilitating the exercise on the importance of correct and reliable measurement of chemical substances in sports, food safety, medical laboratories, forensics, and the environment.
Minister for Trade, Industry and Commerce, Senator the Honourable Guy Mayers reflected on the importance of the initiative, during the opening ceremony on Wednesday. “I think that this is a very timely and important exercise because chemical metrology – that part of the science of measurement that deals with the measurement of chemical substances – has in recent times assumed great importance as it relates to several aspects of life, including the quality of the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and the food that we eat,” said Mayers.
Chemical metrology functions are largely handled by the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), as the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards is currently limited in its chemical metrology capabilities.
Head of the Metrology Department of the Bureau of Standards, Anselm Gittens says the unit is not interested in duplicating the work of CEHI, but however, says the workshop is a platform for generating a plan for the way forward.
Gittens said: “The participants will be looking at the various resources that are required to set up a national chemical metrology infrastructure. In the case of St. Lucia, from the discussions, we will decide whether the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards should accelerate the actual development of chemical measurement capability, or whether we should leave that to CEHI alone.”
The three-day event is organized by the Inter-American Metrology System, which is the umbrella grouping for regional metrology organisations.
