A Computerized Data Management System for U.S. EPA QA/QC Methods

This paper describes a user-friendly IBM-PC compatible computer program capable of managing the Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) requirements of any size laboratory performing analysis to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specifications. The program design criteria addresses the QA/QC requirements of the analysis of sludges, sediments, waters, and other materials. The database is initialized using well established standard data for solids and liquids (for example, Standard Reference Materials from the National Bureau of Standards). The analyst enters the following QC data for the parameters of interest into the database: found concentrations for internal and/or external standards, values for blanks, spike recoveries, replicates, duplicates, and midpoint internal standards. This step is performed for each parameter for each discrete sample set or analytical run. The program then generates control charts for these parameters and creates a QC data sheet, which documents all aspects of the QA/QC requirements for chemical analysis as specified by the EPA. This database management system also transfers the QA/QC documentation into a universal format capable of being used in standard statistical and spreadsheet software, such as Lotus 1-2-3, Supercalc 4, Chartmaster, and others. This allows a wide range of statistical and graphical manipulations to be performed not only on the QA/QC data but on the analytical data as well.