Additional sources of information and guidance can be accessed via the web. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) provides a variety of documents to facilitate quality management activities. The areas discussed in these EPA documents include guidance on sampling design, preparation of quality assurance project plans (QAPPs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs), development of modeling projects, and statistical evaluation of data. The United States Geological Survey, USGS, provides specific information on the techniques used for investigations involving water resources. The association, National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC), was organized under the sponsorship of EPA and other federal agencies to foster the generation of environmental laboratory data of known quality. NELAC standard provides information on proficiency testing, on-site assessment and the development of a quality system.
Direct links to the guidance documents provided by these organizations are provided below:
- www.epa.gov/quality/qa_docs.html
- http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/twri
- www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/land-sci/nelac/index.html
Contact: Mary Hagen LeFaivre, Quality Assurance and Site Safety Coordinator