OELA Ramblings

TNI Standard Workshop Presentation

2010-05-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

The presentation for the May 13 TNI Standard Workshop is posted with the OELA Documents. Click on this link: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8JR3oWz11RsNzg2YzVmNGMtOTk5Ny00ZTBmLWIyMTYtNmRlYjZlMGI3MzAz&hl=en

There are 70 registrants for the workshop. Hope to see you there.

SAVE THE DATE!

2010-03-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

Mark Your Calendars for Thursday, May 13, 2010.
OELA/ORELAP Annual Environmental Laboratory Workshop

Getting ready for the New TNI Lab Accreditation Standard that goes into effect July, 2011: A program that will be of interest to all environmental laboratories.
Registration information available at www.oelaonline.com . Click on the Events tab for the registration form..

Summary of Workshop

The NELAC Institute (TNI) National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) has adopted for use within the program four new accreditation standards:

Management and Technical Requirements for Laboratories Performing Environmental Analysis

General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Accrediting Environmental Laboratories

General Requirements for Environmental Proficiency Test Providers

General Requirements for an Accreditor of Environmental Proficiency Test Providers

The new standards will replace the 2003 NELAC standard and will be implemented in 2011. All NELAP-accredited laboratories will need to comply with the new requirements by July 1, 2011. This workshop will review in detail the standard applicable to laboratories, briefly review the other three standards, and present the plan for implementation.

PROGRAM:

8:00 Registration
8:15 Welcome, Background and Implementation Schedule
8:45 Proficiency Testing Requirements Affecting Laboratories
9:30 Break
10:00 Quality Systems: General Requirements
12:00 Lunch Break (provided)
1:00 Quality Systems: Technical Requirements
2:00 Interpretations, Clarifications and Guidance
2:30 Accreditation Body Requirements Affecting Laboratories
3:00 Questions and Answers

New Meeting Location:

Northwest Viticulture Center 215 Doaks Ferry Rd. Salem, OR 97304 503.584.7272

For directions: http://www.chemeketa.edu/aboutus/locations/eola/flocation.html

Going to San Antonio!

2009-08-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

Several OELA Board members will be attending the TNI/NEMC Forum in San Antonio Texas Aug 10-14. This will be my first chance to find out if the Alamo really has a basement as well as to see TNI in action. The National Environmental Measurement Conference meeting that is also taking place also has many interesting topics.

Check out the program by clicking on this link: http://www.nemc.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:technical-program&catid=45:nemc-2009-info

I will be attempting to post daily updates of conference happenings on the OELA Blog.

Keith

May 15 Workshop Successful!

2009-05-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

Over sixty attendees were at the OElA/ORELAP Workshop in Salem on Friday, May 15. Thanks to all who helped with the program and all who were in attendance. (Don't forget HACH and Wibby Environmental who sponsored our breaks.)Michael Skeels set the tone from the beginning with his Future of ORELAP presentation. Marlene Moore, our featured speaker, spoke on Small Laboratory Quality Systems and also moderated our first ever Assessor's Forum. In fact there are two questions that didn't get answered yet: One on how to perform a Microbiological continuing proficiency demonstration and another on whether or not you need to follow the 5th Edition of the EPA Drinking Water Certification Manual to the letter or just as "guidance". We'll let you know what the answer's turn out to be.Copies of the speaker's presentations are posted here. Just click on the links below:

Michael Skeels' Future of ORELAP:
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dcwj6zpn_23dwr7fshc&hl=en

Dan Hickman's TNI and ORELAP update:
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dcwj6zpn_61dbtzw4ck&hl=en

Michelle Van Kleeck's Electronic Data Reporting of Drinking Water Data:
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dcwj6zpn_64gtcqsdgm&hl=en

Marlene Moore's Small Lab Quality Systems:
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dcwj6zpn_143hfrzwmgg&hl=en

Ethics and Data Integrity Training Presentation:
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dcwj6zpn_0f9dqhddm&hl=en

OELA/ORELAP May 15 Workshop Program

2009-04-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION ALL NELAC LABS! SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS NOW FOR ASSESSOR FORUM AT OELA SPRING WORKSHOP!

For the first time, OELA will hold an Assessor Forum at our annual workshop. Questions may be submitted anonymously from any lab or employee concerning current interpretation of 2003 NELAC Standards or “deficiencies” on an on-site report. The questions will be discussed and evaluated at the Workshop. Email any issues you wish to have evaluated to kchapman@cityofsalem.net

Friday, May 15, is the date for the Joint OELA/ORELAP Spring Environmental Lab Accreditation Workshop. It will again be held at the Best Western Black Bear Inn in Salem, which is just to the southeast of the Market Street exit off of I-5. The exact address is Black Bear Inn – Conf. Center , 1600 Motor Court NE, Salem, OR .

The program and registration form will soon be posted on the OELA website.

For now you can Click on this link to see a printable registration form

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcwj6zpn_22gxst4bgz

PROGRAM

8:00 AM – 8:30 AM Registration
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM Welcome: OELA President Keith Chapman, City of Salem
8:45 AM – 9:30 AM The Future of ORELAP – Dr. Michael Skeels, DHS
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM TNI & ORELAP Update Dan Hickman, DEQ
10:15 AM – 10:30 AM Break Sponsored by ERA
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM TNI Lab Survey & Small Laboratory Issues, Bennett Osborne, Valley Labs
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM ORELAP Technical Advisory Committee Presentation, Kevin Krefft, Linn Benton CC
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM Electronic Reporting of Drinking Water Data, Michelle VanKleek, DHS
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch (on your own)
1:00 PM – 2:20 PM Quality Systems: Marlene Moore, Advanced Systems
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM Laboratory Ethics & Data Integrity: Train the Trainer, Dennis Wells, Environmental Science Corporation
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM Break Sponsored by HACH
3:15 PM – 4:30 PM Assessor Forum ORELAP, Marlene Moore

2009-03-13T15:55:00.001-07:00

3/13/2009

As it is Friday the 13th (for the second month in a row) I thought it would be appropriate to have a safety-themed post. Click on this link to see Lab Manager Magazine's latest articles about MSDS's.

http://www.labmanager.com/newsletters.asp?ID=551

Still have some time? Then guess what this picture is of. And DON'T FORGET the ORELAP/OELA Workshop in Salem on May 15!!

Senate bill 737: Field of Dreams?

2009-03-04T10:27:00.000-08:00

Senate Bill 737, passed by the 2007 Legislature, requires the State to compile a list of Toxic Chemicals that are Persistent and/or Bioaccumulative. The Proposed “Priority Persistent Pollutant” List contains 175 chemicals which can be found on the DEQ website: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/SB737

By July 2011, Oregon's 52 largest wastewater treatment plants will have to develop plans to reduce pollutants measured above either the new state thresholds or existing drinking water standards. Those plans, paid for through sewer rates, are likely to include public education efforts and funding for specific pollution reduction programs.

Please note that this list is IN ADDITION TO the 122 EPA Priority Pollutants for which wastewater treatment plants already must test!

Further, in a Field of Dreams strategy (“build it and they will come”) the proposed List does not yet include any analytical methods. There is an advisory committee that is researching methods, but I haven’t seen anything published yet, so at this point there is no way to estimate the cost of this monitoring for treatment plants.

What does this List mean to Oregon environmental labs? Take a look at it and decide for yourself. We are going to hear a lot more about it in the coming months.

2009-03-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

The new OELAONLINE website went live today! A special thanks goes to Erin Sherman (and her teacher Mr. Doug Adkins) of Sprague High School who created our new webpages. I hope to hear comments pro and con about how you like it.

This "OELA Ramblings" column is designed to give us a way of quickly posting news of interest to the Oregon environmental lab community.

The first bit of news for this year is the announcement of our annual OELA/ORELAP Workshop, Friday, May 15, 2009 at the Black Bear Inn in Salem. We will soon have the program and registration brochure posted in the "Events" section of OELAonline. This year's program will feature several presentations by Marlene Moore of Advanced Systems Inc. which will give us a greater understanding of what it takes to be a NELAC accredited laboratory.

Spring Workshop Information

2009-02-25T08:28:00.001-08:00

Soon there will be some actual news posted here. Stay tuned for information about our Spring Workshop Program....Keith