Diagram of Laboratory's pivotal role in the Island
Government Laboratory
Welcome to the Isle of Man Government Laboratory's website. Here you will find details of the Laboratory and its range of services, and copies of some of the reports that have been produced following a range of scientific investigations. For more details of any particular topic click on the navigation tabs at the left of the page.
Introduction
The Isle of Man Government maintains its own Government Laboratory to provide analytical support to its various departments and functions. The Laboratory also serves local authorities, businesses and the wider community.
The expertise of the Laboratory lies chiefly in the disciplines of analytical chemistry, microscopy, microbiology, radiochemistry and freshwater biology together with a knowledge of the law pertaining to such diverse areas as food safety, consumer protection and the environment. The Laboratory's services are wide-ranging, including:-
- Food safety and quality
- Drinking water quality
- Radiation monitoring
- River water quality
- Bathing water quality
- Marine algae/nutrient monitoring
- Agricultural materials
- Gas and leachate from landfill
- Consumer product safety
- Gas testing
- Chemical problems
- Scientific advice to Government
Through its activities supporting the work of various parts of Government, key agencies, businesses and even the general public the Laboratory plays a pivotal role in the well-being of the Island, as shown in this diagram below.
Although the Laboratory is part of Government, the effectiveness of its work depends upon scientific integrity and independence, and on public perception of these. For this reason it operates as a separate unit reporting to the Chief Executive of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture. The pursuit of scientific truth and balanced scientific assessment of data are very important to the Laboratory, enabling the best information and advice to be made available to support the functions of Government and the Island as a whole.
