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).
Audit Sample Program is to develop consensus standards for the manufacture and analysis of audit samples for source emission testing.
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: 2016
Section: V1M6, Section 1.7.3.5
REQUEST:
Section 1.7.3.5.d states that all radiochemical results shall be reported with an estimate of uncertainty, as discussed in Section 1.5.4.
However, section 1.7.3.5.f states that “project- or client-specified reporting requirements can take precedence over the requirements of this Standard”.
Does part f, section 1.7.3.5 supersede section 1.5.4.b and 1.7.3.5.d if a client requests that all types of radiochemistry uncertainty (i.e., Total uncertainty, counting uncertainty, Standard Uncertainty, k-factors) in section 1.5.4.b shall not be included on the report?
TNI FINAL RESPONSE:
Section 1.7.3 applies to Data Evaluation and Reporting, with 1.7.3.5 (Reporting Results) specific to results shown on the final deliverable(s) to the client. 1.7.3.5.f was included in acknowledgement that certain programs (e.g. SDWA) target a level of uncertainty based upon method requirements (e.g. detection limit goal), and that State reporting forms, which may be filled out by the laboratory, often do not include a place to list the uncertainty. If a client does not want to see any uncertainty results on their final report, that is their prerogative (although in the Committee’s opinion the result is not “complete” without some form of uncertainty). However, this does not absolve the lab of the requirements of other sections of Module 6 or the Standard as a whole, including Module 2, Section 5.10 (Reporting the Results). The third paragraph in Module 2, Section 5.10.1 states:
“In the case of tests or calibrations performed for internal customers, or in the case of a written agreement with the customer, the results may be reported in a simplified way. Any information listed in 5.10.2 to 5.10.4 which is not reported to the customer shall be readily available in the laboratory which carried out the tests and/or calibrations.”
Thus, regardless of what is presented on the report, the uncertainty must be determined by the laboratory and readily available. And, if a client requests data be “reported in a simplified way”, the laboratory must maintain the written agreement. Also, note that Module 2, Section 5.10.3.1 requires that the report shall include “a statement of compliance/non-compliance with requirements and/or specifications”.