Harmonization of QA Procedures for Environmental Data Operations: Development of a National Consensus Standard for Quality Assurance for Environmental Programs

摘要

Decisions on where and how to clean-up Federally-owned facilities contaminated by mixtures of hazardous chemical and radioactive wastes requires that quality environmental data be obtained. The Federal Government is currently using several different standards or sets of requirements for establishing the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) procedures associated with environmental data operations for these sites. These standards defined the criteria for the QA activities and documentation required, the content and format of the documentation, and who was responsible for implementation. Shortcomings in these standards of requirements led in 1989 to efforts by several public and private sector groups to 'harmonize' the multiple sets of standards and requirements into a single set. These efforts are being conducted under the auspices of the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) and involve participation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and others in the contractor and regulated communities. The paper describes the progress toward establishing a national consensus standard for QA for environmental programs through the ASQC standard-setting process.