palintest Wagtech Potalab+ (M) User Manual

2
Introduction
6
2.0 Introduction
The Wagtech Potalab
®
+ (M) is a portable water quality test kit. It has been designed primarily to
test the microbiological quality of drinking water; assessing whether or not there has been faecal
contamination of a water source. It allows the end user to test directly for Total and Faecal Coliforms.
The Wagtech Potalab
®
+ (M) conforms to advice given by the World Health Organisation (WHO)
for the field based testing of microbiological water quality. The parameters measured for, and techniques/
procedures used are based on accepted laboratory methods and are adapted for use in demanding
field conditions.
More information on the “WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality” can be found at
www.palintest.com
As with all the kits in the Wagtech range, ease of use is integral to the design. The Wagtech Potalab
®
+ (M)
is suitable for use by technicians of all skill levels and this manual provides the essential information
required to conduct rapid water quality testing in the field.
This instruction manual is also available in French, Spanish and Mandarin.
Additional advice and training is available upon request. Contact us directly at support@palintest.com
or via your local representative.
2.1 Before You Use Your Kit
2.1.1 Microbiological
Analysis of Drinking Water
Drinking water contaminated by faecal matter may
contain pathogenic (disease causing) organisms
and represent a risk to public health.
It is impractical to attempt to isolate specific
pathogens because they are present in relatively
small numbers compared with other types of
microorganisms. Moreover, there are many
types of pathogen and each requires a unique
microbiological isolation technique. The accepted
approach is to analyse for indicator organisms that
inhabit the gut in large numbers and are excreted
in human/animal faeces. The presence of these
indicator organisms in water is evidence of faecal
contamination and therefore a risk that pathogens
are present. If indicator organisms are present in
large numbers, the contamination is considered
to be recent and/or severe.
The group of indicator bacteria tested for with
the Potalab
®
+ (M) are called Coliforms; more
specifically the focus is on the enumeration of
Thermotolerant Coliforms (sometimes called Faecal
Coliforms). These are bacteria that originate from
faecal sources. However the Potalab
®
+ (M)
is also capable of testing for Total Coliforms by
simply selecting a different incubation temperature.
Thermotolerant Coliforms or Faecal Coliforms are
used in water microbiological testing to denote
coliform organisms which grow at 44 or 44.5°C
and ferment lactose to produce acid and gas.
In practice, some organisms with these
characteristics may not be of faecal origin and
the term Thermotolerant Coliforms is therefore
more correct and is becoming more commonly
used. Nevertheless the presence of
Thermotolerant Coliforms nearly always
indicates faecal contamination.
Usually, more than 95% of Thermotolerant
Coliforms isolated from water are the gut
organism Escherichia coli (E. coli), the presence of
which is definitive proof of faecal contamination.
As a result, it is often unnecessary to undertake
further testing to confirm the specific presence
of E. coli.

palintest Wagtech Potalab+ (M) Specifications

General

Brand	palintest
Model	Wagtech Potalab+ (M)
Category	Measuring Instruments
Language	English