HORIBA UK Limited announced that its AP-380 Series Air Quality Monitor has achieved MCERTS certification under the Environment Agency’s mandatory product certification scheme.
Key Insights: Operators procuring continuous ambient monitoring systems (CAMS) for UK ambient air quality reporting must hold MCERTS-certified instruments to satisfy the Environment Agency’s requirements under Directive 2008/50/EC as adopted into UK law. Instruments/products lacking this certification cannot be used to report regulated air quality data. Labs and network operators evaluating continuous NOₓ, SO₂, O₃, or CO monitors should confirm MCERTS status before procurement or contract renewal.
What Does MCERTS Require for Ambient Air Quality Monitors?
MCERTS certification requires instruments to pass independent type-approval testing against specific EN performance standards. For continuous CAMS, Directive 2008/50/EC as adopted into UK law makes that certification a legal prerequisite for any data submitted to regulators. The applicable EN standards for the AP-380 Series, assessed by CSA Group UK Ltd under EN ISO/IEC 17065 on behalf of the Environment Agency, are listed in the UK Environment Agency performance standards:
- EN 14211:2024 — Nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen monoxide by chemiluminescence
- EN 14212:2024 — Sulfur dioxide by ultraviolet fluorescence
- EN 14625:2024 — Ozone by ultraviolet photometry
- EN 14626:2024 — Carbon monoxide by non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy
MCERTS field testing for the AP-380 Series took place on a six-lane motorway near Cologne, Germany, replicating high-traffic pollution conditions. Independent TÜV data confirmed all four certified modules met the 15% maximum relative expanded uncertainty requirement, outperforming the threshold by 5–11 percentage points. The APHA-380 hydrocarbon module holds US EPA and QAL1 approvals but falls outside the current MCERTS scope.
The AP-380 Series holds concurrent type approvals from US EPA (40 CFR Part 53), German UBA/TÜV Rheinland (QAL1), Korean NIER, and Chinese SAMR, giving it regulatory acceptance across four major certification frameworks.
HORIBA AP-380 Covers Multiple Pollutant Classes with Multi-Jurisdiction Approval
The AP-380 Series spans five gas measurement modules covering NOₓ/NO₂/NO, SO₂, O₃, CO, and hydrocarbons, with continuous measurement from ppb to ppm across environmental testing programs, local authority air quality networks, and cleanroom applications.
| Module | Target Analytes | Measurement Principle | MCERTS | US EPA | QAL1 (UBA/TÜV) |
| APNA-380 | NO, NO₂, NOₓ | Chemiluminescence | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| APSA-380 | SO₂ | UV Fluorescence | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| APOA-380 | O₃ | UV Photometry | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| APMA-380 | CO | Non-Dispersive Infrared | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| APHA-380 | CH₄, NMHC, THC | Flame Ionization Detection | — | ✓ | ✓ |
Across environmental and waste management programs, the series applies to the following sectors:
- Ambient Air Networks: Local authorities and national monitoring networks reporting under UK ambient air quality regulations
- Industrial Process Monitoring: Low-concentration gas measurements from combustion, petrochemical, and manufacturing processes
- Industrial Gas Purity: Impurity monitoring for quality assurance of industrial and medical gases
- Semiconductor and Cleanroom: Airborne molecular contamination monitoring for fabrication facilities
- Water Treatment: Trace ozone monitoring at drinking water treatment plants
- Vehicular Emissions: Roadside and Mini AQMS (air quality monitoring station) configurations
Each module operates independently and fits into stationary, wall-mounted, mobile, or portable housings, so programs covering multiple sites can use one certified platform without qualifying separate instruments at each location.
AP-380 Module Swaps Restore Continuous Monitoring in Minutes
Replacing a faulty AP-380 gas measurement module on-site takes minutes, with no depot return required, cutting the data gaps that leave compliance records incomplete. Remote diagnostics via PC, tablet, or smartphone let technicians interrogate faults, run calibration routines, and pull data logs without a site visit, reducing both service costs and transport emissions.
Lewis Redford-Knight, energy and environmental sales manager, HORIBA UK, notes that the motorway field-testing results “represent a strong validation of our platform’s engineering quality.” He adds that the certification “confirms the AP-380’s high-sensitivity, consistent and dependable performance” built on more than 60 years of HORIBA’s air pollution monitoring expertise.
UV LED sources replace mercury lamps across the AP-380 platform, eliminating the hazardous waste obligations that mercury-lamp instruments carry throughout their service life. Teams tracking Scope 3 outsourced testing obligations or procurement sustainability criteria may treat this as a relevant differentiator. Labs with expanding environmental testing responsibilities around trace-level detection can also weigh the mercury-free design against total cost of compliance.
Verify MCERTS Status before Deploying any CAMS in the UK
Confirm MCERTS certification status for the specific module and pollutant configuration required through the CSA Group UK Ltd product register before purchase. Procurement leads assessing carbon footprint documentation alongside instrument selection can refer to ISO 14067 third-party verification resources.
Outsource qualified air monitoring services to Contract Laboratory’s network of accredited environmental testing laboratories, if in-house deployment is not an option.
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The original press release can be found here.
This article was created with the assistance of Generative AI and has undergone editorial review before publishing.