WADA declares London Olympic laboratory ready

PanARMENIAN.Net - The laboratory that will test athletes for drugs at the London Olympics has been declared ready by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Associated Press reported.

The lab at King's College London Drug Control Center was accredited by WADA on Monday, April 23 following a two-year testing program that examined the lab's equipment, staff and procedures.

Officials from WADA's science department made several visits to the lab in central London, with the site subject to three formal inspections and dummy sample testing.

The King's College lab usually deals with about 8,000 samples per year. It expects to handle more than 6,250 during the Olympics and Paralympics, with about half the competing athletes and every medalist set to be tested.

"Achieving WADA accreditation means that the London 2012 Anti-Doping Laboratory will operate to the highest standards of sample analysis during the Olympic and Paralympic Games," WADA President John Fahey said.