The OPCW Technical Secretariat will hold a course on the enhancement of laboratory skills on chemical weapons-related laboratory quality management (CW-LQM) at the Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention (VERIFIN) in Helsinki, Finland.
Aim
The CW-LQM course is intended for qualified analytical chemists from Member States with economies that are developing or in transition.
The course aims to:
- Assist them in acquiring further experience and practical knowledge
- Facilitate the analysis of chemicals related to national implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention
- Enhance national capacities in these Member States by offering training in analytical chemistry to personnel from industry, academic institutions, and government laboratories
- Facilitate the adoption of good laboratory practices
- Broaden the pool of human resources from which National Authorities and the Secretariat can draw in the future.
Content
The CW-LQM course will consist of the following elements:
- Study in detail the quality standard for testing laboratories
- Lectures and practical exercises examining the standard
- Participants will be asked to provide information on the quality assurance system in their laboratory and provide their current laboratory quality manual, if they already have one
- Participants will continue working with their own quality manual or to start to prepare one during the course.