2009-11-04 08:49:03 -

A Leeds-based chemicals company is expected to become the first in the UK to develop a ‘gold standard’ for the precise measurement of chemicals in products typically used by every individual and business in the UK.

Vickers Laboratories Ltd is developing the technology and procedures to manufacture Primary Standards for pH (acid / alkaline) and Conductivity measurements, which will be used

by laboratories as a benchmark for the tests they are required to carry out.

The Primary Standards will be small bottles of chemical solution, precisely manufactured using scientific procedures laid down in internationally agreed documents. Every batch of the specially-produced standard is expected to take around nine weeks to manufacture.

The drive towards precise chemical standards in the UK is being headed by The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), this is the UK’s top tier of quality assessment. This organisation is ultimately responsible for the assessment of quality in the UK, and in turn accredits assessment organisations such as BSI.

UKAS is currently active in the country’s laboratories to ensure that they provide reliable results by using high quality reference materials.

Currently, UK laboratory standards are measured by.

- ISO9000 – basic quality processes and record keeping.


- ISO17025 – testing of specific materials or specific analytical procedures.


- ISO17925 – calibration of laboratory equipment.

However, if a laboratory is using reference materials prepared by an ISO Guide 34 accredited manufacturer, then all these elements are included and no further auditing evidence is required. On-going costs are reduced, and certainty of results is much increased.

Under the new development, Vickers Laboratories Ltd will become the first ISO Guide 34 manufacturer of pH standards and Conductivity standards in the UK. Currently, the only other registered manufacturers are believed to be one in the USA and one in Germany.

CEO Julian Driver says: “It is important to understand that with consumers wanting increasingly high product quality world-wide, there is a need to have higher standards to measure against. The manufacture of these primary standards, which will be at the top of the quality pyramid, will give the UK a pre-eminent position in this drive ”.



Sue Baker at Lexicon PR LtdTel: +44 1943 830 626Email: sbaker@lexiconpr.com : mailto:sbaker@lexiconpr.com