National Measurement Institute NATIONAL MEASUREMENT INSTITUTE WORLD-CLASS MEASUREMENT STANDARDS AND SERVICES FOR AUSTRALIA

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1 Natioal Measuremet Istitute NATIONAL MEASUREMENT INSTITUTE WORLD-CLASS MEASUREMENT STANDARDS AND SERVICES FOR AUSTRALIA

2 ABOUT NMI The Natioal Measuremet Istitute (NMI) is Australia s oestop shop for measuremet ad sits at the peak of Australia s measuremet system. Through the breadth of our activities, we help realise the potetial of measuremet to ehace Australia s ecoomic prosperity ad well-beig. NMI s measuremet expertise, ifrastructure, stadards ad services are simultaeously world-class ad practically orieted. We develop ad maitai Australia s primary measuremet stadards to deliver iteratioally recogised measuremet services to Australia idustry coverig calibratios, chemical ad biological aalyses such as food ad evirometal testig, sports drug ad foresic drug testig, ad traiig i specific measuremet techiques. We also provide support ad advice o measuremets made for legal purposes, assist idustries to develop ew measuremet methods ad admiister Australia s atioal trade measuremet system. INNOVATIVE RESEARCH Research uderpis all aspects of NMI s work. High-level research ad collaboratios deliver scietific retur o ivestmet, iteratioal credibility for measuremets made i Australia, ad provide support for emergig techologies. Research activities iclude: participatig i iteratioal collaboratios aimed at improvig the defiitio of the kilogram, the accuracy of time ad frequecy measuremets, ad the stadard of direct voltage. developig leadig-edge approaches to improve the accuracy of DNA ad RNA measuremets for cliical diagostics. OUR VISION To deliver a facility for measuremet i Australia that is world-class, icreases idustrial efficiecy, ehaces export trade, supports soud regulatio ad effective social ad health policies. We are a multi-discipliary team of more tha 400 people across Australia that delivers practical measuremet solutios to help address Australia s societal ad ecoomic challeges i areas icludig health, eviromet, eergy, food ad agriculture, security ad trade. We work collaboratively with researchers ad idustry to support Australia s competitive edge usig measuremet to improve productivity through ehaced process efficiecy ad cotrol, waste reductio, ad product research, developmet ad optimisatio. OUR SERVICE Our aim is to work with you to idetify your eeds ad develop practical, fit-for-purpose solutios. Usig our expertise ad state-of-the-art techology we ca provide tailored solutios to improve the performace, safety, efficiecy ad regulatory compliace of your busiess. Our cliets i govermet, idustry ad the commuity rely o our wide rage of stadard ad tailored measuremet solutios. We uderstad that measuremet eeds are ofte multi-dimesioal, ad our breadth of expertise allows us to provide comprehesive, multi-discipliary approaches to solvig your measuremet challeges. developig improved detectio methods ad producig chemical referece materials to uderpi the accuracy of measuremets of performace-ehacig drugs i athletes. Developmet of techiques for detectig gee dopig is a priority. improvig accuracy of physical measuremet stadards ad techiques that are essetial to advaces i techology ad products. emergig areas such as food allerges, geetically modified orgaisms, desiger illicit drugs, ewly idetified pollutats ad greehouse gases which require ew aalytical methods ad referece materials. We are workig with our parters towards those goals.

3 Blocks of illicit drugs seized by the Australia Federal Police have to be broke dow ad homogeized prior to aalysis. (Photo: AFP Foresic ad Data Cetres) NMI s high voltage laboratory at Lidfield, Sydey, is Australia s largest high voltage hall. COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS Parterships with other orgaisatios are essetial to NMI s ability to serve Australia s iterests effectively. These parterships rage from multilateral scietific collaboratios to work coducted uder cotract. Trasfer of expertise ad techology to idustry is facilitated. Some examples are: NMI is a member of CRC-CARE, the Cooperative Research Cetre for Cotamiatio Assessmet ad Remediatio of the Eviromet. The techical expertise of NMI ad other research collaborators is helpig to solve sigificat evirometal issues. worked with the Natioal Water Commissio o a meterig framework for suppliers ad users of irrigatio water. Adequate legal validity to uderpi extractio ad tradig regimes of irrigatio water is importat. workig with the WA Water Corporatio to characterise treated wastewater ad its subsequet ijectio ito the depleted aquifer of the Gagara Moud i WA. NMI provides cotiual support i method developmet, validatio, measuremet ucertaity ad QA/QC. New quatum stadards for direct ad alteratig voltage are beig developed by NMI together with the metrology istitutes of Japa ad the USA. The ew stadards will lead to icreased accuracy ad reliability i the measuremet of voltage ad related quatities such as electrical power. workig with iteratioal metrology istitutes o ew, highly accurate methods ad istrumets for measurig dimesios of aoparticles. coductig chemical profilig of illicit drugs ad providig iformatio about geographical origi, traffickig routes ad chemicals used i productio, thereby assistig law eforcemet agecies with strategic itelligece to restrict the illicit drug trade i Australia. A ew irrigatio meterig system beig tested. Together with the water idustry, NMI has developed a ew irrigatio meter stadard to help maufacturers ad users esure cosumptio of irrigatio water is measured accurately. (Photo: AWMA Pty Ltd) Naoparticles of zic oxide i zic creams make them ivisible. Materials at differet sizes have differet physical properties that ca make them beeficial or harmful. NMI s aoparticle laboratory ca esure that size of particles is accurate. The Gagara Moud is the sigle most importat source of potable water for Perth ad stretches from Gigi i the orth to the Swa River i the south. It supplies up to 60% of Perth s drikig water

4 SPECIALIST CAPABILITIES NMI offers a broad rage of scietific ad techical capabilities that address all sectors of measuremet at the highest levels of precisio ad itegrity. Our capabilities i actio iclude: a high-voltage laboratory to test a wide rage of precisio istrumetatio ad major ifrastructure used i power geeratio ad distributio. dissemiatio of accurate time ito ICT systems ad remote operatio of time servers o cliets ifrastructures. ruig a key laboratory for aalysis of vitamis ad fuctioal compoets of food ad beverages e.g. total atioxidat capacity of juices. NMI s metrological scaig probe microscope that uses five laser iterferometers to measure the motio of a sample surface relative to a fixed sesor. The resultig image of the sample ca be used to measure the distace betwee features o the sample surface with aometre accuracy, with the result directly traceable to the SI uit of legth, the metre. NMI regularly aalyses fish for dioxis ad has aalysed fish caught i Sydey Harbour for ultra low levels of dioxi. GROWTH INTO THE FUTURE NMI udertakes cuttig-edge research that aticipates ew measuremet techologies ad applicatios. This research is the foudatio of our support for Australia measuremet, icludig Australia Govermet iitiatives such as eergy efficiecy ad resource maagemet. NMI provides policy ad practical measuremet advice, together with services, to a umber of govermet agecies to ehace their applicatio of fit-forpurpose measuremets i importat areas such as the eviromet, resource maagemet, health, food safety ad biosecurity. Growth areas iclude: NMI s aoparticles work helps idustry ad regulators uderstad ad maage potetial risks associated with the aotechology idustry, thereby supportig the global competitiveess of a rapidly growig idustry i Australia. workig with stakeholders to provide measuremet solutios i eviromet, health ad eergy sectors. workig with stakeholders to provide greater certaity i measuremet of the quality ad volume of water. NMI is developig ovel measurig systems to quatify DNA ad RNA, thereby likig these measuremets to SI uits. This ca the be used to support the developmet of medical diagostics for some cacers. A image of 50 aometre latex particles take by NMI s aoparticle laboratory. Particles such as these are used to calibrate particle sizig istrumets. 58 m 0 m y: 0.40 mm x: 0.43 mm

5 Petrol bowsers eed to be examied for compliace to specificatios. Oe of the tests is to esure that their measuremets are ot susceptible to electromagetic iterferece. Drug testig laboratories, NMI icluded, use atibody-based tests such as this ELISA plate to detect the abuse of protei-based drugs such as EPO ad hgh i athletes. NOVEL PRODUCTS NMI s products serve the eeds of a rage of cliets: commercial testig providers, service idustries, research istitutes ad other atioal metrology istitutes. Some of our more ovel products are: iteratioal best-practice certified referece materials to facilitate accurate aalyses i laboratories for sports drugs, foresic drugs, geetic testig ad agricultural ad veteriary chemicals. specialised high accuracy time ad frequecy dissemiatio systems servig the eeds of a wide rage of cliets, icludig the atioal Speakig Clock service. traiig programs i measuremet ad ucertaity aalysis, tailored to particular sectors of idustry. ENABLING SERVICES NMI s broad suite of measuremet expertise is available to govermet, idustry ad the commuity through a wide variety of services delivered by our laboratories across Australia. Issuig over test ad measuremet reports to approximately cliets, NMI is well-placed to deliver customised aalytical ad calibratio services such as: determiatio of food cotamiats, agrichemical residues, fuctioal compoets ad food safety idicators. calibratio of high accuracy measuremets demostratig traceability to the iteratioal system of uits (SI). testig of measurig istrumets uder fluctuatig evirometal coditios to esure that they perform to specificatios. proficiecy testig programs i target areas of public cocer: trade, public health, law eforcemet ad the eviromet. chemical aalyses for orgaic ad iorgaic pollutats to meet statutory requiremets, icludig specialised facilities for providig high accuracy referece values, low-level ad speciatio aalysis. developmet of ew measurig istrumets, systems ad solutios to meet idustrial ad scietific eeds. measuremet of aoparticle size, size distributio ad shape. NMI's ew facility i North Ryde, Sydey.

6 Natioal Measuremet Istitute A divisio of the Departmet of Idustry. ifo@measuremet.gov.au ABN Headquarters Bradfield Road West Lidfield NSW 2070 Telephoe: Facsimile: NOVEMBER 2013