 |
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 Conservation
123 Main Street, Suite 160
Winnipeg MB R3C 1A5
Phone: (204) 945-7095
|
|
