Question 57-60 To ensure similarity in scientific investigation or monitoring, nationally and internationally agreed standards are being introduced. Several systems of documenting experimental methods and procedures are in use today and are becoming increasingly important for indicating data quality and verifying the integrity of studies. One such approach is Good Laboratory Practice which was introduced in 1982 by the Health and Safety Executive to monitor the testing of industrial chemicals. Since 1982 the range of laboratories inspected has been extended to include those working with pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, cosmetics and food additives. Good Laboratory Practice is concerned with the way. laboratory or field studies are planned, monitored, recorded and reported and the conditions under which this occurs. Following the principles of GLP ensures that the studies are properly planned, can be adequately carried out and are fully and accurately reported. As pan of the planning, execution and reporting of a study, the various processes carried out are carefully documented as Standard Operating Procedures. The value of long-term observation of environmental factors has only been recognized relatively recently although some monitoring of the environmental factors have been in existence for over a century. The best known long-term study is probably the Broadbalk Experiment at Rothamsted. Broadbalk and the other long-term experiments at Rothamsted and elsewhere are now proving to be extremely valuable by answering questions not considered, nor even conceived, when they were originally set up. Even so they are limited in geographic scope and by the fact that they are confined to one land use category. Current environmental and ecological monitoring networks, while not limited geographically, have in the main been set up to measure just one aspect of the environment. In contrast, the Environmental Change Network (ECN) was set up to give added value to long-term monitoring and data collection by providing a network of sites in different parts of the U.K. and under a variety of land use conditions where comparable long-term data on a wide variety of environmental variables could be recorded. The idea of a network such as ECN was first considered in the mid 1970s but the concept did not reach fruition until 1992. The selection of the initial network of terrestrial sites was based on a range of criteria. One of the most important requirements, given the intended long-term nature of the project, was financial security although consistent quality of research was also required. The project intended that other sites representing more variable climate zones and land use will eventually join the network as funding becomes available. The monitoring carded out at each ECN site covers a range of physical, chemical and biological measurements. Where possible procedures and measurements used by existing national monitoring schemes are employed so that ECN provides an integrating function for the more extensive sectorial networks. Environmental changes due to factors such as climate change are likely to be difficult to identify against the background noise arising from the numerous sources, both natural and man-made, of environmental variability. It is desirable, therefore, to minimize any additional variation due to operator involvement. To this end, and to ensure consistency and repeatability, protocols for each of the key measurements were produced. The passage implies, though it does not explicitly state, that _______ is ( are) the most promising approach to the long-term monitoring of environmental factors.

A. Broasbalk Experiment
B. Good Laboratory Practice
C. Environmental Change Network
D. Standard Operating Procedures