Oregon Public Broadcasting

State public health officials have barred a Portland lab from testing drinking water samples for more than 400 public water systems in Oregon.

The interim state public health director Michael Skeels says an on-site inspection of Coffey Laboratories in Portland found significant problems.

Michael Skeels: “The way the data were being reported, there were errors, there were methods being used that were not approved by the U.S. EPA and these were so significant that we felt they represented a public health threat and so we had to take immediate action to suspend the laboratory’s accreditation to test public drinking water supplies.”

State officials say there are no indications anyone suffered health problems associated with drinking water tested at the lab.

The lab mainly tests water in smaller municipal water systems such as Estacada -- though they were also responsible for testing water in larger cities such as Gresham and La Grande.

The city of Portland tests it’s own drinking water and is not affected by the suspension.

Coffey Laboratories has 90 days to request a hearing on the suspension.