APMP Clean Water Focus Group (CWFG) Workshop
"Enhanced Water Quality Assurance through Improved Measurement Capabilities for Pesticide Residues Analysis"

CWFG_01_FGI2024

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) Singapore and the National Institute of Metrology (NIM) China jointly organised a 3-day Asia Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP) Clean Water Focus Group (CWFG) Workshop entitled "Enhanced Water Quality Assurance through Improved Measurement Capabilities for Pesticide Residues Analysis", with support from the APMP FGI Initiative and the APMP DEC. Conducted in hybrid format in Singapore from 5 to 7 May 2025, the workshop combined theoretical foundations on the first day, with practical applications over the next two days, featuring expert presentations, high-accuracy methods, measurement uncertainty discussions, hands-on laboratory demonstrations and industry visits.

The workshop achieved exceptional regional participation with 190 total participants from 14 economies across the Asia-Pacific region. The first day’s workshop attracted the highest attendance with 190 participants (67 onsite, 123 online), while the second and third days maintained focused engagement with 41 participants for hands-on technical sessions at customers’ centres of Thermo Fisher Scientific and Waters. Participants gained comprehensive exposure to cutting-edge analytical methodologies through ten expert presentations covering regulatory frameworks, technological innovations, and metrological best practices. The hands-on laboratory demonstrations provided direct experience with high-accuracy analytical techniques, sample preparation protocols, and advanced instrumentation.

A key strength was the strategic partnership across Singapore’s water quality ecosystem, bringing together expertise from public sector agencies including PUB (Singapore’s National Water Agency) and Enterprise Singapore, leading academic institutions such as the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, and private sector partners including analytical instrumentation vendors such as Agilent, Sciex and Shimadzu, alongside water testing laboratories and water management companies such as Ecosoftt. This diverse multi-stakeholder participation fostered valuable knowledge exchange, technology transfer discussions and networking opportunities.

The top two objectives that stood out across participants were enhance technical knowledge in pesticide residues analysis and learn about new analytical technologies, directly addressed through the comprehensive programme. The workshop has laid groundwork for planned future initiatives, including an APMP supplementary comparison/pilot study and APMP-APAC PT programme on pesticide residues in water scheduled for 2026, followed by pesticides calibration solution in 2027.

Pui Sze CHEOW

CHEOW_Pui_Sze@hsa.gov.sg