C. QUALITY ASSURANCE by David L. Smith, CIH; Michele L. Bolyard, CIH; and Peter M. Eller, Ph.D., CIH
| Contents: | Page | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Role of Laboratory Quality Assurance Program | 7 |
| 2. | Organization | 8 |
| a. Quality Assurance Coordinator | 8 | |
| b. Sample Clerk | 9 | |
| 3. | Quality Assurance in Sampling | 9 |
| 4. | Quality Assurance in Measurement | 10 |
| a. Methods | 10 | |
| b. Standards | 10 | |
| c. Blanks | 11 | |
| d. Blind Samples | 11 | |
| e. Recovery Studies | 12 | |
| f. Duplicates | 12 | |
| 5. | Interlaboratory Testing | 12 |
| 6. | Reporting | 13 |
| 7. | Laboratory Notebooks | 13 |
| 8. | Instrument Maintenance | 14 |
| 9. | Sample Tracking | 15 |
| 10. | Quality Assurance Records | 15 |
| 11. | References | 15 |
1. ROLE OF LABORATORY QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM
Analytical data are used to make a variety of decisions, i.e., to decide whether a particular chemical agent is present in a workplace atmosphere, whether a hazard to workers' health exists in that atmosphere, or whether a workroom atmosphere complies with applicable standards. Errors in such data can have a variety of costly effects.[1] The consequences of erroneous data may lead to the wrong decision being made as to whether a non-compliance situation exists. If the analytical results are a part of a larger experiment, perhaps the wrong conclusion might be reached or the results might be uninterpretable. If the presence or absence of a particular agent is erroneously reported, a threat to workers' health may be allowed to continue. It is the role of a laboratory's quality assurance program to provide the necessary safeguards to minimize these occurrences and to provide a means of detecting errors when they do occur. There are many good texts and articles addressing the subject of laboratory quality control.[2][3][4][5] The purpose of this chapter is to address some of the
- ↑ Hunter, J. S. "The National System of Scientific Measurement," Science, 210. 869 (1980).
- ↑ Garfield, F. M. Quality Assurance Principles for Analytical Laboratories, Association of Official Analytical Chemists, AOAC International, Arlington, VA (1991).
- ↑ Taylor, J. K. Quality Assurance of Chemical Measurements, Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, MI (1987).
- ↑ Keith, L. H. Environmental Sampling and Analysis: A Practical Guide, Lewis Publishers, Chelsea, MI (1991).
- ↑ Dux, J. P. Handbook of Quality Assurance for the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York (1986).
