Electricity and Control August 2023

PLANT MAINTENANCE, TEST + MEASUREMENT : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Water analysis is essential for safe drinking water

Access to safe drinking water is a privilege not shared by everyone in Africa. Often, drinking water is contaminated – by damaged infrastruc ture and distribution systems, breakdowns at treatment facilities, rapid urbanisation, or gen eral water pollution. In South Africa, this means many people are obliged to turn to groundwater. However, to avoid disease and ill health, it is important to ascertain whether the groundwater is fit for human consumption. Condition monitoring specialist company, WearCheck, recently integrated its sister company – previously Set Point Water Laboratories, now WearCheck Water – into its operations, adding another service to the company’s repertoire. WearCheck’s range of condition monitoring servic es also includes the scientific analysis of used oil and other fluids, asset reliability care (ARC), transformer oil testing, lubricant-enabled reliability (LER) services and advanced field services (AFS), (rope testing, technical compliance and non-destructive testing), among others. Thelma Horsfield, General Manager of WearCheck Water, highlights that the company is ISO 17025:2017 accredited and tests water from any source. “We conduct analyses on water from many sources to determine the presence and levels of potentially harmful substances. Naturally available ground- and surface water are invaluable water sources that should be closely monitored when they are being used. The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) national standard SANS241: Drinking Water Quality, sets out the minimum requirements for safe drinking water and is reinforced in the National Water Act.” WearCheck Water operates two ISO 17025-accredited laboratories – one in Cape Town, the other in Johannesburg. Technicians at the laboratories conduct scientific analyses of water samples for a range of clients in different industries from across Africa.

Moses Lelaka, WearCheck’s Technical Water Lab Manager in Johannesburg, explains some of the quality systems that govern the water-testing process. “SANS241 sets out the minimum requirements for po table water to be considered safe for human consump tion, covering physical quality, chemical components, heavy metals levels, organics and microbiology. Addi tional determinants for nearby pollutant influences must be added to SANS241. For instance, where agriculture is practised nearby, checking for fertiliser contamination should be included. “However, we find that although annual testing in terms of SANS241 determinants is generally followed by water providers, more regular monitoring programmes are often lacking. Daily, weekly, and bi-weekly monitoring, based on the number of people serviced, is often overlooked. “Monitoring is invaluable in that it signals environmen tal changes in the water table that can occur quickly due to seasonal changes, rainfall, drought, heavy industry, agriculture, natural disasters, or other factors. Responsi ble monitoring signals any changes in water quality be fore they present any harm to life.” Lelaka emphasises that due to the many and varied sources of potential contamination which can severely af fect people’s health, it is imperative to test drinking water before it is distributed for consumption. He adds that it is equally important to determine the safety of industrial ef fluent, to ensure it is disposed of in an earth-friendly way. WearCheck offers water analysis services in every region in Africa where the company has a presence: in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Namibia, Mozambique, and the DRC.

Moses Lelaka, Technical Water Lab Manager at WearCheck Water in Johannesburg.

For more information contact WearCheck. Tel: +27 (0)11 923 7028 Email: marketing@wearcheck.co.za Visit www.wearcheck.co.za

High-efficiency OES analysis of metals

omy have been continuously improved by systematic ‘voice-of-customer’ inputs and rigorous usability testing. Now, a fully reimagined software suite adds more func tional and customisable ease of use. Argon consump tion is reduced by up to 50% in standby mode and by 13% during full-flow operation when measuring samples (compared to previous models). Trace limits of detection (LODs) for high-purity copper are improved by 30%. SPECTROLAB S is designed to supply quick meas urements, high throughput, lowest limits of detection, longest uptime, and flexibility going forward. The instru ment will serve primary and secondary metal producers, automotive and aerospace manufacturers, and makers of finished and semi-finished goods, well.

SPECTRO Analytical Instruments has recently intro duced SPECTROLAB S, to deliver higher efficiency OES analysis of metal alloys with greater economy. A leader in developing high quality OES (optical emission spectroscopy) instruments, SPECTRO has fine-tuned its solid-state detectors using proprietary

SPECTROLAB S is designed to deliver highly accurate OES analysis of metals, quickly.

CMOS+T technology to set a new bench mark in high-end arc/spark OES analysis. SPECTROLAB S provides highly accurate results in under 20 seconds (in low-alloy steels, for example) and analysis of the main alloying elements in some key metals in under 12 seconds (iron, aluminium and copper materials, for example). The instrument’s efficiency and econ

For more information contact SPECTRO. Visit: www.spectro.com

26 Electricity + Control AUGUST 2023