Leominster water testing lab loses license, following DEP fraud investigation
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ETR Laboratories in Leominster
Environmental Testing and Research Laboratories, Inc., a water testing laboratory in Leominster, has had its license revoked by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, according to a Monday announcement from MassDEP.
The decertification occurred after the lab “repeatedly failed to properly analyze private drinking water samples and report the test results in accordance with its certification and state regulations,” per the MassDEP announcement.
ETR Laboratories released a five-page statement on MassDEP’s decision, stating there were “numerous inconsistencies and contradictions.” The statement also stressed that ETR recently received re-accreditation from the International Organization for Standardization, a water treatment certification for global companies.
MassDEP discovered the improper testing measures through an undercover investigation, which was sparked by numerous complaints from local boards of health and homeowners.
Agents from MassDEP’s Environmental Strike Force posed as homeowners and sent water samples to the Leominster company to be tested. ETR Laboratories reported finding bacteria and fungi that did not and could not exist in the water samples, the MassDEP report said.
MassDEP has ruled ETR Laboratories violated laboratory certification regulations by:
- Performing careless and inaccurate reporting of analytical measurements;
- Engaging in unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices;
- Performing, reporting, or failing to report drinking water analyses in a manner that threatened public health; and
- Making false, inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading statements in laboratory reports.
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Totally makes sense, we had our water tested by ETR. They missed the large particulate sediment that is visible in our sink and reported bacteria. We did a second test through a Home Depot kit for bacteria and found none. We will be getting yet another test thanks to this article!
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