 |
98-02E January 1998
Policy on Accreditation of Laboratories
BACKGROUND:
The quality of the analytical results generated by a laboratory is an important factor in any environmental monitoring program. Although there are standard methods published for many analytical procedures, the data produced is dependent on the quality assurance/quality control procedures used by the individual laboratory. In order to provide a greater degree of confidence in the analytical results submitted to Manitoba Environment, the department has adopted a policy on laboratory accreditation.
POLICY:
All analytical results submitted to Manitoba Environment should originate at:
facilities accredited by the Standard Council of Canada (SCC), or
facilities accredited by another accrediting agency recognized by Manitoba Environment to be equivalent to the SCC, or
the analytical facility should be able to demonstrate to Manitoba Environment, upon request, that it has the quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures in place equivalent to accreditation based on the Canadian Standard Can/CSA-Z753, extension of the international standard ISO 9000, Guide 25.
APPLICATION:
This policy will apply in all of the following cases:
- laboratories or consultants providing service directly to Manitoba Environment;
- clients, consultants or their subcontractors generating data in support of their proposals required under legislation administered by Manitoba Environment;
- clients, consultants and their subcontractors generating compliance monitoring data in support of licences, orders or regulation under legislation administered by Manitoba Environment;
- clients, consultants and their subcontractors generating data in support of their general monitoring required under legislation administered by Manitoba Environment.
The policy does not apply to analytical methods used in the field.
INTERPRETATION:
With the implementation of this policy, parties submitting analytical data to Manitoba Environment will have to ensure that the facility conducting the analysis has been accredited and that written confirmation of the accreditation is available to the department upon request. The site audit of the facility is generally carried out by the Canadian Association of Environmental Laboratories prior to issuance of the accreditation by the Standards Council of Canada
(SCC). CAEAL does not issue its own accreditation.
The SCC accreditation is granted for both overall QA/QC procedures within the facility and for specific analytical procedures. Clients should determine if the laboratory has accreditation status for the specific analyses requested by them. In some cases the department may also stipulate that the laboratory be accredited for the specific analytical procedure and/or may request that QA/QC information be supplied to the department by the laboratory.
The submission of QA/QC data to Manitoba Environment in lieu of SCC accreditation is an option that can only be used in very specific circumstances where it can be shown that the use of an accredited facility is not feasible to conduct a particular analysis. This option should not be viewed as an alternative to using accredited facilities. Under the scope of this policy, Manitoba Environment can deny requests to use this option if the submitter fails to demonstrate that the circumstances that resulted in the request are unique and of short duration.
Manitoba Environment also receives reports and submissions which are not directly related to regulatory requirements. The department reserves the right not to provide comments on submissions which include analytical data originating at non-accredited laboratories.
Inquiries on this policy can be directed to
Manitoba Environment
123 Main Street, Suite 160
Winnipeg MB R3C 1A5
Phone: (204) 945-7095
|
|
