Washington Administrative Code
Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508)
Chapter 173-50 - Accreditation of environmental laboratories
Section 173-50-080 - Audits
Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
The laboratory must undergo an audit by the department, or their primary accreditation authority (in cases of third party recognition), to assess critical elements and areas of recommended practices. All directly accredited laboratories will be audited on a triennial basis. The laboratory must assist/accommodate department of ecology personnel during audits as required. The department will determine if the audit will be on-site.
(1) Critical elements for accreditation. Elements of an environmental laboratory's operations which are critical to the consistent generation of accurate and defensible data are critical elements for accreditation. Critical elements are subject to intense scrutiny throughout the accreditation process. The ecology accrediting authority may deny, revoke, or suspend accreditation for deficiencies in critical elements. Functional areas including critical elements are:
To gain and maintain accreditation, laboratories must demonstrate that equipment and supply requirements of applicable regulatory programs are being met.
To gain and maintain accreditation, laboratories must demonstrate that data management requirements of applicable regulatory programs are being met.
(2) Recommended practices. Recommended practices are those elements of laboratory operations which might affect efficiency, safety, and other administrative functions, but do not normally affect quality of analytical data. Normally these practices would not be the basis for denial or revocation of accreditation status. Functional areas within which recommended practices may be noted are:
(3) Drinking water laboratory requirements. For laboratories applying for accreditation of drinking water parameters, audit requirements are those designated in the drinking water certification manual. If such a standard is more stringent than the corresponding standard in this chapter, the drinking water certification manual applies.
(4) Documentation requests. Laboratories must submit requested documentation to the department at least two weeks prior to the scheduled start date of an audit. At a minimum the documents submitted must include:
Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21A.230, 43.20.050 and 2009 c 564 § 301. 10-17-032 (Order 09-09), § 173-50-080, filed 8/9/10, effective 9/9/10. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.21A.230. 02-20-090 (Order 01-12), § 173-50-080, filed 10/1/02, effective 11/1/02; 93-20-011 (Order 92-53), § 173-50-080, filed 9/22/93, effective 10/23/93; 90-21-090 (Order 90-21), § 173-50-080, filed 10/19/90, effective 11/19/90; 89-10-001 and 90-07-017 (Order 89-1 and 89-1A), § 173-50-080, filed 4/20/89 and 3/13/90, effective 4/13/90.