understanding end-users' approaches to ensuring the quality of environmental data

Understanding End-Users’ Approaches to Ensuring the Quality of Environmental Data

By Christina Hiegel, P.E.Civil/Environmental Engineer

IntroductionChristina has over 11 years’ experience in the environmental industry. She is a registered civil/environmental engineer and manages the chemistry group at Trihydro. Her primary responsibilities include providing technical support for projects in data defensibility, data quality, and leading data quality efforts.

Christina Hiegel

Importance of Data Quality

Laboratory

• Certification• Methodology• Standard

Operating Procedures

• Legal Defensibility

Consultant/Responsible Party

Regulatory Agency

Importance of Data Quality

Laboratory

• Certification• Methodology• Standard

Operating Procedures

• Legal Defensibility

Consultant/Responsible Party

• Regulatory Requirements

• Legal Defensibility

• Project Objectives

Regulatory Agency

Importance of Data Quality

Laboratory

• Certification• Methodology• Standard

Operating Procedures

• Legal Defensibility

Consultant/Responsible Party

• Regulatory Requirements

• Legal Defensibility

• Project Objectives

Regulatory Agency

• Public Scrutiny• Public Protection• Legal

Defensibility

Differing Quality Standards

Reporting Limits

Holding Times

Preservations

Choosing Analytical Methods

Data Validation Standards

Data Validation Standards

USEPA.  2010. USEPA Contract Laboratory Program National Functional Guidelines for Inorganic Superfund Data Review (USEPA 540‐R‐10‐011). Available from: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/clp/download/ism/ism1nfg.pdf.

Data Validation Standards

Data Validation Standards

USEPA.  2008. USEPA Contract Laboratory Program National Functional Guidelines for Superfund Organic Methods Data Review (USEPA‐540‐R‐08‐01). Available from: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/clp/download/somnfg.pdf.

Calibration Standards

Calibration Standards

USEPA.  2008. USEPA Contract Laboratory Program National Functional Guidelines for Superfund Organic Methods Data Review (USEPA‐540‐R‐08‐01). Available from: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/clp/download/somnfg.pdf

Precision

Data Reporting

TIER I

TIER II

TIER III

TIER IV

Final Data Management

Laboratory Report

Electronic Data 

Deliverable

Data Validation

Final ReportsFiguresTables

Meeting Quality ObjectivesCommunicate:• General project information • Regulatory requirements• Reporting limits and analyses requirements• Analyses, constituents of concern, target analytes• Subcontracting requirements• How to communicate with each other• Validation objectives• Audit changes to the data• Other information (e.g., sampling requirements, blanks, turn, and

special reporting packages)