develop consensus standards for use by TNI's programs. This group has a support role in assisting other programs with activities such as guidance and standards interpretation.
fosters the generation of data of known and documented quality is through the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, or NELAP. The purpose of this program is to establish and implement a program for the accreditation of environmental laboratories.
is to establish and maintain a national PT program to support TNI’s National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, and other activities.
Field Activities Program (NEFAP) Executive Committee is to establish and implement an accreditation program for field sampling and measurement organizations (FSMOs).
on a variety of topics of interest to the environmental measurement community. TNI also hosts two regularly scheduled meetings per year, typically in January and August. Both are a week long and involve open meetings of TNI committees as well as training courses and other special sessions.Standard Interpretation
Standard: 2003 NELAC
Section: 5.5.5.2.2.1 (h)
REQUEST:
In the analysis of samples for pH...our buffer range is 2 through 12. Does that mean we need to flag any values outside this calibration range? Is "J" appropriate? or a flag identified as "out side calibration range"?
FYI - our analyst found a reference that states that negative values for pH are possible...and she actually got a sample like that last week from mine waste.
TNI FINAL RESPONSE:
(Quality Systems Expert Committee and NELAP AC, 10-4-14)
The result must be qualified to indicate that it is outside the calibration range.
The use of flags to qualify data is dependent on the client requirements and state regulatory requirements. The committee cannot comment on the specific qualifier that is appropriate to use, as the use of qualifiers varies.