Transportation and Receiving of Commonly Used Laboratory Water Samples

1. Transportation of Water Samples

Containers containing water samples must be properly protected and sealed, and secured within a packaging box to prevent damage during transportation. Strict requirements must be placed on the materials used and the conditions under which the water samples are transported. In addition to protection against shock, avoidance of sunlight, and low temperatures, it is also necessary to prevent new contaminants from entering the container and contaminating the bottle mouth, which could degrade the water sample.

During the transfer of water samples, each sample must be accompanied by a management procedure registration card (see Table 1). When transferring water samples, both the transferor and the recipient must count and inspect the samples and sign the registration card, noting the date and time.

The management procedure registration card is a document for the water samples during transportation and must be properly kept to prevent errors and for future reference. This registration card is especially important when water samples are transferred from the sampling site to laboratory analysts through a third party (see Table 1).

Table 1 Management Procedure Record Card

2. Reception of water samples by the laboratory

When the water sample is sent to the laboratory, the water sample must first be checked, the label must be verified, and if it is correct, sign for acceptance.

If analysis cannot be performed immediately, preservation measures should be taken as soon as possible to prevent water samples from being contaminated.