TNI Logo The NELAC Institute

Future of Laboratory Accreditation

 Thursday, July 17, 2014
 2:00 - 3:30pm EDT

Led by the efforts of the Advocacy Committee, The NELAC Institute (TNI) is currently in the process of re-evaluating its approach to maintaining and growing the national accreditation program. As we "take stock," TNI is examining what is working as well as what is not working for states, EPA, laboratories and various other stakeholders.

To begin gathering the information needed to chart a new course, TNI staff has interviewed representatives from 21 Non-NELAP states and received a broad range of ideas, some new and some not-so-new. Using this information as a starting point, TNI is holding this webinar to continue soliciting input from the stakeholder community. This process will culminate in a workshop on Friday, August 8, at the Environmental Measurement Symposium in Washington, D.C., where breakout groups will brainstorm solutions to the issues identified.

Over the course of the twenty years since the national accreditation program was conceived, the state and federal regulatory landscape has shifted dramatically. The first group of NELAP accreditation bodies (ABs) received recognition in 1999. Since that time, only three additional ABs have applied for and been recognized as NELAP ABs. While many other states utilize all or part of the NELAC or TNI standards in their accreditation programs, attempts to expand the program by recognizing additional ABs have not been widely successful.

TNI's vision is a true national accreditation program, whereby all entities involved in the generation of environmental measurement data within the United States are accredited to one uniform, rigorous, and robust program that has been implemented consistently nationwide and focuses on the technical competence of the entity pursuing accreditation. It is time for TNI to re-evaluate its approach to making this vision a reality.

Who should attend?

  • Laboratory QA Managers
  • Laboratory Assessors
  • Data Users
  • Regulators


Fees: FREE

Click the link below to send a request to Ilona Taunton to register.

 


Format:
Webinar

Start Date:
Thursday 17th July 2014, 2:00pm

Length:
1.5 hours

Presented By:


Jerry Parr

About the Presenter:
Jerry Parr is the Principal Scientist with Catalyst Information Resources, a company focused on providing current relevant information on environmental laboratory issues. He also serves as the Executive Director for The NELAC Institute, serves on the Advisory Board for the Environmental Laboratory Washington Report, and is the conference organizer for the National Environmental Monitoring Conference. He has a BS in Chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin and has 40 years of experience in environmental analytical chemistry.



The NELAC Institute
P.O. Box 2439
Weatherford, TX 76086
Tel. 817.598.1624
Fax. 817.904.4370

© The NELAC Institute (TNI)