San Diego students visit Georgian National Environment Agency

Tbilisi: The students from San Diego’s civil engineering faculty visited the Georgian National Environment Agency’s atmospheric, air, and soil analysis laboratory. Within the framework of the visit, the students, along with the laboratory staff, participated in hands-on activities, including biological and chemical studies of water.

It is noteworthy that Atmospheric Air Water and Soil Analysis Laboratory systematically hosts students from various international universities and helps them to apply theoretical knowledge in practice and develop relevant skills. The students get acquainted with the biological and chemical processes of environmental analytics.

The National Environmental Agency laboratory is the only one in Georgia that has been monitoring the quality of the environment since the 60s of the last century and has unique databases.

Chemical and microbiological studies of water, soil and air are carried out in the laboratory according to methodologies of the relevant EU framework directive principles.

It must be noted that the National Environment Agency chemicals and pesticides laboratory is established under S. (34)(1) of the HC&PCM Act 1994 to perform chemicals analysis on pesticide formulation and other chemical substances prior to their clearance and use. 

Furthermore, the laboratory is expected to extend its scope of analysis to monitoring pollutants in all environmental matrices (i.e. water, soil and air). Currently, the laboratory is equipped with GC- µECD, FID & FPD and its latest collection of equipment include; GC-MS, potable FTIR, water quality monitoring device like the oxygen meter, pH meter, conductivity meter, and others.

The National Environment Agency of Georgia is currently undertaking various projects, named as GEF-6, PCB and UPOPs and the GCCA+. These projects aim towards sustainability of environmental quality and the provision of adequate resources and technology for the realization of these motives.