Flemish Region

Network of recognized laboratories for sampling and analysis of soil in a regulatory context:

With the Institutional Reform Act of August 8th, 1980, the management of the environment in Belgium became a task of the regions (Flemish, Walloon and Brussels Capital Region). The regions were therefore entitled to their own devices to implement a policy on environmental nuisance.

Shortly after the Belgian state reform in 1980 and under pressure of the proliferation of landfills, the actions of the environmental movement and the exhortations of the European Court, the issue of waste is discussed on one of the first meetings of the Flemish Council. On July 2nd, 1981, the decree "concerning the prevention and management of waste-materials" - simply ”Decree on Waste”- sees the light of day (on 23 December 2011, this decree was updated to "Decree on sustainable management of material cycles and waste). The Flemish waste policy objectives are: 1) waste prevention, 2) promotion of reuse, recovery and recycling, 3) organization of the disposal of generated waste. To reach these goals, the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM) was founded. In 1982, the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK) starts to act as reference laboratory for OVAM.

A new policy on nuisance-causing establishments was announced with the Decree of the Flemish Council of June 28th, 1985, concerning Environmental Licenses. This environmental decree entered into force on September 1st, 1991, with the first implementation order: the Order of the Flemish Government of February 6th, 1991, establishing the Flemish regulations concerning environmental Licenses (Title I of VLAREM). This order deals with the various procedures and the list of establishments and activities that are classified as nuisance.

In 1991, the European Commission (EC) issued a nitrate directive (91/676/EEC) concerning the protection of water against contamination by nitrates from agricultural sources. To meet the EC directive, the application of manure and fertilizers has been restricted in Flanders by the Decree on Manure (1991). The Flemish Land Agency (VLM), founded in 1988, helps farmers to reach these goals.

The Flemish environmental policy was extremely fragmented and to rationalize and simplify the Environmental law, an "Interuniversity Commission Review of the Environmental Law" was established in 1989. In 1994, this Commission proposes a report: all sub-regulations should be integrated into a system of licensing and this initiated the Flemish environmental code.

A subsequent implementation order, the Order of the Flemish Government of June 1st, 1995, concerning General and Sectoral provisions relating to Environmental Safety (Title II of VLAREM) included the environmental conditions under which an establishment may be operated. The use of Best Available Techniques (BAT) and the setting of environmental quality standards were the starting points in the Flemish environmental regulation.

The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), founded in 1991, takes over the role of reference laboratory for OVAM from the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK) with respect to the disciplines soil and waste. In 1994 VITO takes over the role of reference laboratory from the Belgian Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (IHE) for the disciplines water and air.

On February 22nd, 1995, the Flemish Parliament approved the Decree for soil remediation. This soil remediation legislation had also been prepared by the Interuniversity Commission for the Revision of Environmental Law (“Bocken Commission”). A year later, the implementation decisions were bundled in the Order of the Flemish Government of March 5th, 1996, concerning the establishment of the Flemish regulations on Soil Remediation (VLAREBO). These texts created a legal framework to address soil problems in Flanders. In VLAREBO, standard values were defined for background values (unpolluted soils) and for soil remediation values, depending on the destination type of the soil (housing, industry). The most severe soil remediation values form a balance between a limited enrichment relative to the natural background composition of the soil on the one hand and the maximum protection of human health and the ecosystem from direct exposure on the other.

On December 17th, 1997, the Flemish Government approved the Decision establishing the Flemish regulations relating to waste prevention and management (VLAREA). VLAREA introduced the concept of secondary raw material for several applications, e.g., as fertilizer, soil conditioner, construction material or soil. It is assumed that the main impact to the environment by using secondary raw materials is caused by the leaching of inorganic contaminants (e.g., heavy metals) into the underlying soil and groundwater. The basic principle is the “marginal soil load”, i.e., a very limited enrichment of the underlying soil layer by inorganic contaminants. On 17 February 2012, this decision was updated to decision of the Flemish Government establishing the Flemish regulations regarding the sustainable management of material cycles and waste materials (VLAREMA).

The Flemish soil remediation decree of 2007 replaced the old decree of 1995. The simpler decree regulates soil certificates and remediation of contaminated soil. The decree of 1995 mainly had an effect on companies in operation and on transfer of ownership of (contaminated) grounds. Abandoned or unused areas that were no longer used because of soil contamination, called brownfields, remained unaffected. The new decree of 2007 aims to protect the available green spaces and to upgrade contaminated areas.

In 2005 the cross compliance was introduced into the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and linked CAP payments with respecting certain rules in the areas of environment, health and welfare. Rules with which farmers must comply include good agricultural and environmental conditions (GAEC). Two goals of the GAEC are to prevent soil erosion and to maintain soil organic matter and soil structure. the translation of this European legislation into decisions of the government of Flanders entailed the necessity to recognize laboratories for the determination of soil organic carbon, pH and soil texture. VITO was designated as the reference laboratory to support the development of Standard Operating Procedures and the recognition of soil laboratories in the subdomain of soil protection.

In 2011, a decision of the Flemish Government establishing the regulations for recognition related to Environmental monitoring (VLAREL) is adopted. This decision provides regulations on the recognition of professional qualifications and technical specifications for chemical analysis and monitoring of the Environment. Herein, it is mentioned that the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) is (re)designated as reference laboratory for Flanders.

VITO annually organizes proficiency tests and technical tests (sampling) on behalf of Flemish governments such as the Environment Department, OVAM, VLM. Participation is mandatory for all laboratories in the network that are recognized or wish to be recognized by the competent authority. A proficiency tests is an interlaboratory study in which a group of participants receives the same sample or set of samples. The technical performance of each participant is assessed on the basis of the reported analysis results. These proficiency tests and technical tests are designed to carry out a uniform quality control of the laboratories recognized for environmental analyzes. The assessments of whether a laboratory meets the accreditation conditions are based, among other things, on these proficiency tests and technical tests. Voluntary participation outside recognition is usually also possible. This gives the participants an instrument to guarantee the quality of their analyzes. The ring tests and technical tests are also useful for identifying general methodological problems in the accredited laboratories.

Databank Ondergrond Vlaanderen is the portal for soil data in Flanders. Harmonization of this soil data and related information is an enormous challenge. in 2021 the Open Standards for Linked Organizations (OSLO) started working on soil and subsoil. The aim of this working group is to define standards for all data related to soil and subsoil. This also includes a Flemish code list of analytical methods for which BESOLAN could be a great source of information.

Walloon region

The Walloon network, called REQUASUD, was officially established in 1989, following different ideas or problems raised before:

• 1970’s: some people hear about NIR spectroscopy and want to develop it in Wallonia. It was first developed for analyzes on cereals.
• 1970’s – 80’s: for the same soil sample, the farmer can get different analytical results and fertility advices. The “Walloon soil commission” was therefore created in 1982, to harmonize the analytical methods and fertility advices between the routine laboratories of Wallonia.
• 1994: the first official agreement is written and signed by all the partners of the network (research and routine laboratories). This document gives the rights and obligations of each partner, the tasks, missions and objectives, and the budget to reach them.

The laboratory of ULiege, GxABT-EESP is the reference laboratory for soil analyzes within the network and took the leadership in the organization of different activities.

The establishment of the Walloon network has been supported by public funds (regional and provincial). Nowadays, the laboratories still receive regular public funds to help working and developing. However, the funds are becoming smaller over time, and we need to fix some priorities and put some interesting developments away. Another challenge is some tensions between the partners who don’t always totally agree. During the discussions, we try to take decisions according to the majority; some people may be frustrated, but it can’t be otherwise.

The laboratory of ULiege, GxABT-EESP also works on other topics:

• Soil cartography
• Helping the farmers reaching the established goals for the Walloon territory and participates to the annual controls, linked with the nitrate directive (91/676/EEC) from the European Commission (EC).
• Since end 2000’s, the laboratory is working on the development of NIR analyzes on dried and fresh soils.
• Various projects on soil pollution and remediation.
• In partnership with ISSeP, defining the best analytical methods for agronomic parameters (“Compendium Wallon des méthodes d’Echantillonnage et d’Analyse” – CWEA).
• Other researches are performed by the laboratory: biochar, silicon, development of biological analyzes, etc.

Outside REQUASUD, various legislations have been implemented in the Walloon region:

• Ministerial order (13 February 2013) to respond to the nitrate directive (91/676/EEC) concerning the protection of water against contamination by nitrates from agricultural sources. In that frame, farmers are advised, followed and advised. Structures (for example Protect'eau) have been created for that purpose.
• The Walloon soil remediation decree (2008, revised in 2018) gives standard values for estimating soil pollution. depending on the destination type of the soil (housing, industry etc.) taking into account human health, groundwater and ecosystems. Reference guides have been published to manage contaminated soils studies.

LABORATORIES

Flemish reference laboratory – accredited laboratories network

As the Flemish reference laboratory for environmental monitoring, VITO is a link between the Flemish government and the environmental laboratories. VITO's tasks as reference laboratory are:

• Technical assessment and advice to the competent authorities in the context of the approval of laboratories;
• Laying down and making available the analytical methods to be used within the framework of the accreditation, after the necessary method development and validation;
• Organization of proficiency tests and other controls to monitor and promote the quality of the analyzes carried out by accredited laboratories;
• Regular consultation with recognized laboratories, e.g. via working groups and contact days;
• Point of contact for recognized laboratories in connection with legislation / measurement aspects;
• Participation in European standardization committees (i.e., CEN TC 444 - Test methods for environmental characterization of solid matrices; CEN TC 223 – Soil improvers and growing media).

VITO's task as reference laboratory is to establish and make available the analytical methods to be used within the regulatory framework of the accreditation:

• Sampling and analysis of waste and soil (CMA)
• Sampling and analysis in the context of soil protection (BOC)
• Sampling and analysis methods for manure, soil and animal feed (BAM)

The analytical method development and research reports are available at:

• Method development of regulatory monitoring methods for waste and soil
• Method development of regulatory monitoring methods in the context of soil protection
• Method development of regulatory monitoring methods for manure, soil and animal feed

Proficiency tests and technical tests in the Flemish region

The proficiency tests and technical tests are organized in the following (environmental) matrices : water (waste, drinking, ground, surface water), soil (soil, groundwater, excavated soil, sediment), waste materials, secondary raw materials, compost, animal waste, manure and feed, air. Within these matrices, the most relevant of standard organic, inorganic and (micro) biological parameters are considered.

ULiege, GxABT-EESP’s main tasks, as reference laboratory for REQUASUD network, are:

• Organization of proficiency tests to monitor and promote the quality of the analyzes carried out by the laboratories, and to harmonize the analytical methods. The PT’s are organized for agricultural soils, proposing 22 chemical parameters;
• Comparison and development of analytical methods (organic carbon, sulphur, CEC, NIR, pollutants, etc);
• Development of a tool for sampling: REQUACARTO;
• Database: collecting and sharing (REQUACONSULT and publications);
• Working group on fertility advices (PKMgSN, liming);
• Reference Materials (MR): sampled, prepared and distributed to be used as witness in the routine analyzes;
• Interlaboratory audits: help each other to improve and get official accreditation;
• Trainings (ISO standards, analytical methods, equipments, etc);
• Common answer to requests from the agriculture needs and questions (political or field levels);
• Collaboration with other research laboratories, like UCLouvain or Walloon Agricultural Research Centre CRA-W, as links may be done with other matrices or technologies (soils – manure – NIR technology, etc);
• Establish partnerships with other agricultural structures to move forward all together and give a unique message to the users (mainly farmers).

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